Oil firmed on Thursday, bouncing back from lows after U.S. jobless claims fell, but gains were tempered by comments from an OPEC delegate who said the cartel might increase its supply target to help rein in prices. U.S. government data showed claims for unemployment benefits fell last week, although a dip in initial claims was below expectations. By 1318 GMT, Brent crude futures were up 86 cents to $115.39 a barrel, while U.S. oil futures were 21 cents firmer to $100.50 a barrel. Feeble U.S. jobs and factory output data, together with weak factory growth around the world, have led economists to slash their forecasts for Friday's non-farm payrolls report. "It is persistently bearish macro numbers that should limit gains in oil, and market participants remain reluctant to enter large trades just yet," VTB Capital's Andrey Kryuchenkov said. On the supply front, the market awaits stockpile figures from the Energy Information Administration this afternoon, after a delegate of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said the cartel may raise its output target by as much as 1.5 million barrels per day when ministers meet on June 8. "There is a need for an increase to replace the loss from Libya," the delegate said. "Oil prices are too high; $100 oil is scaring people. Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi waded into the debate, noting that OPEC is ready to raise production to meet any increased demand. This view was challenged, however, by the Algerian energy minister, who said he did not expect OPEC to raise output. "The markets have not reacted much to the announcement, but we suspect that additional downward pressure could materialize if in fact this turns out to be the case," MF Global analysts said in a note. "We still have a hard time seeing how commodity prices could move higher over the course of June given the fact that economic growth is now approaching 'stall speed', particularly here in the U.S.," MF added. OPEC An OPEC target rise of 1 million bpd would result in only a small increase in the amount of oil coming to the market. That is because part of the rise would simply absorb above-target supply that some members of the group in OPEC are already pumping. The 11 members of the group bound by OPEC production targets pumped 26.23 million bpd in May, nearly 1.4 million bpd above their 24.84 million bpd target, a Reuters survey showed. An output increase would be at odds with a Reuters poll that predicted OPEC would roll over its current output agreement, untouched since a record cut in December 2008. Iran, normally hawkish on prices, thinks preserving OPEC's production ceiling is the only way to control the oil market, the semi-official Mehr news agency quoted Iran's OPEC governor Mohammad Ali Khatibi as saying. CRUDE STOCKS Crude was also buffeted by a jump in U.S. crude oil stockpiles of 3.5 million barrels last week, according to an American Petroleum Industry report. The U.S. Energy Information Administration is set to release its estimates of petroleum stocks at 1430 GMT. Pipeline disruptions had helped oil rally $2 on Tuesday, but TransCanada Corp said it expected to restart its 591,000 barrel per day (bpd) Keystone pipeline after the second spill in less than a month forced it to shut on Sunday. Keystone, which runs from Hardisty, Alberta, to Cushing, Oklahoma, is a key feed for the Cushing oil storage hub, the pricing point for the New York Mercantile Exchange's benchmark crude contract. The dollar fell 0.34 percent against a basket of currencies .DXY.

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