RTRS:UPDATE 2-Brent slips as US data backs Fed stimulus cut strategy
* U.S. durable goods orders, house prices rise strongly
* WTI also down after small drop in US crude stocks
* Coming Up: U.S. EIA weekly crude stocks at 1430 GMT (Updates prices)
By Luke Pachymuthu
SINGAPORE, June 26 (Reuters) - Brent crude eased on Wednesday after strong U.S. economic data supported plans by the Federal Reserve to scale back its stimulus later this year, cutting the flow of cheap central bank money that has boosted market liquidity.
The crude benchmark is down more than 8 percent for the quarter, its third quarterly loss in a row, falling sharply last week after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke laid out a roadmap for paring the pace of bond buying and on China slowdown concerns.
Brent crude for August delivery dropped 38 cents to $100.88 a barrel by 0616 GMT. U.S. crude slipped 68 cents to $94.64 a barrel, and has lost over 2 percent for the quarter so far.
U.S. data showed strong gains in orders for durable goods, the largest annual rise in house prices in seven years and rising consumer confidence, indicating the economy was starting to pull out of a soft patch.
"The data supports the decision by the Fed to pare back stimulus," said Carl Larry, president of Houston-based consultancy Oil Outlook and Opinions LLC.
However, the upbeat data from the United States was countered by weak economic signals elsewhere, casting uncertainty on global fuel demand.
"What we have now is modest but sustained economic growth in the United States, but flatlining and lower growth in China and Europe respectively, that basically evens out and it leaves us with a very flat outlook on demand," Larry said.
Industry data showing a much smaller-than-estimated drop in U.S. crude oil inventories last week, pointing to slow demand in the world's top consumer, also weighed on prices.
U.S. crude inventories fell by 28,000 barrels for the week to June 21, data from the American Petroleum Institute showed, well below a forecast drop of 1.7 million barrels based on a Reuters poll of analysts.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration will release its stockpiles report later on Wednesday.
"The market is still oversupplied, OPEC is still pumping at around 30 million barrels, and demand is flat. So unless we see some change on production, I expect to see an overhang going into the summer," Larry said. (Editing by Manolo Serapio Jr. and Richard Pullin)
