By Chris Baldwin LONDON (Reuters) - Oil eased slightly but held above $65 a barrel on Thursday, buoyed as European equity markets rose for their ninth straight session and renewed speculation that oil demand would be boosted by an economic upturn. U.S. crude oil for September delivery fell 17 cents to $65.23 a barrel by 1000 GMT, after earlier hitting a low of $65.04. London Brent crude slipped 6 cents to $67.15. European shares rose again on Thursday, with the FTSEurofirst 300 .FTSE3 index rolling through its longest winning streak since late 2006. Data on Tuesday from the Energy Information Administration showed a 1.8 million-barrel fall in U.S. crude stocks last week, less than the expected 2.1 million-barrel draw. "The EIA data looked pretty neutral, and there are some good structures in the markets to keep pushing it higher, but today the market seems to be trading more on euphoria from the stock markets," said trader Robert Montefusco at Sucden Financial. "Dollar weakness is also helping the crude contracts to be a bit more constructive." The dollar slipped on Thursday, edging close to a seven-week low versus the euro and a basket of currencies as early stock market gains suggested risk appetite was holding up. Analysts at Barclays Capital wrote in a commodities research note that oil between $65-$75 a barrel "would be the most comfortable range for prices within this quarter." Japan's June oil imports tumbled 19.1 percent from a year earlier to an 18-year low, government data showed on Thursday, as scheduled maintenance and weak demand reduced domestic refiners' need to ship in crude feedstocks. The U.S. Labor Department will release first-time claims for jobless benefits for the week ended July 18 at 1230 GMT. Economists in a Reuters survey forecast a total of 550,000 new filings, compared with 522,000 in the prior week. (Additional reporting by Jennifer Tan in Singapore, editing by William Hardy)

Source