June 11 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose for a third day, climbing above $72 a barrel for the first time in seven months as the International Energy Agency raised its demand forecast and China’s net imports jumped to a 14-month high. The Paris-based adviser to 28 nations increased its global consumption outlook for the first time since August amid signs the recession is “bottoming out.” China boosted net crude purchases to 3.9 million barrels a day in May. Nouriel Roubini, the New York University professor who predicted the financial crisis, said crude will likely rise to $100 a barrel next year. “The IEA report is positive since it confirms that sentiment is changing for the best,” said Andrey Kryuchenkov, an analyst with VTB Capital in London. “Still, the rally is losing momentum and there’s a good chance of a small pull-back as people take profits.” Crude oil for July delivery gained as much as 97 cents, or 1.4 percent, to $72.30 a barrel in after-hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest since Oct. 21. The contract was at $71.97 at 1:39 p.m. London time. The IEA increased its global estimate for daily oil demand by 120,000 barrels to 83.3 million barrels in its monthly report. The increase was driven by the U.S. and China. Still, consumption worldwide will contract by 2.9 percent from last year, the biggest drop since 1981, the adviser said. “In my estimate, oil prices will reach $100 a barrel next year,” Roubini said during an economics conference in Athens, Greece today. “Oil prices have increased too much and too soon mainly because of high liquidity.” U.S. Oil Stockpiles U.S. oil stockpiles dropped 4.38 million barrels to 361.6 million in the week ended June 5, the Energy Department said yesterday. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News had expected supplies to rise by 100,000 barrels. Gasoline inventories slipped for a seventh week. China’s increase in net crude-oil imports in May was second only to a record of 16.9 million tons in March. Imports rose by 5 percent to 17.09 million tons from a year earlier and exports stood at 470,000 tons, up from 150,000 tons last year. China’s spending on factories, property and roads surged a more-than-estimated 33 percent from a year earlier, the statistics bureau said today, helping to drive a recovery in the world’s third-largest economy and stimulating fuel demand. U.S. fuel demand in the past four weeks averaged 18.3 million barrels a day, down 6.9 percent from a year earlier, the Energy Department said. There was a 7.7 percent deficit in the week ended May 29. Gasoline use averaged 9.2 million barrels a day during the period, up 0.4 percent from a year ago. U.S. Fuel Imports Fuel imports to the U.S. dropped 379,000 barrels a day to 2.55 million, the department said. Crude-oil imports slipped 676,000 barrels to 8.97 million. Stockpiles of gasoline fell 1.55 million barrels to 201.6 million, the Energy Department report showed. A 750,000-barrel increase was forecast, according to the median of 14 estimates by analysts surveyed before the report. “A reality check may be needed given the recent change of mood over the economic and policy outlook,” said Harry Tchilinguirian, senior oil analyst at BNP Paribas SA in London. “A lot has been made about greenshoots, but they more likely reflect the evolution of the inventory cycle. Demand is weak, production is slashed, inventories are run down.” Gasoline supplies last week were 3.9 percent below the five-year average for the period, according to the department. There was a 13 percent surplus in the week ended May 22. Brent crude for July delivery rose as much as 85 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $71.65 on London’s ICE Futures Europe exchange. The contract was at $71.36 a barrel at 1:29 p.m. in London. Yesterday, it settled at $70.80, the highest since Oct. 20.

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