Crude below $107/bbl after hefty losses on Saudi comment

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FUNDAMENTALS

* On the New York Mercantile Exchange, May crude gained 35 cents a barrel to trade at $106.42 as of 8.11 p.m. EDT after settling down 2.3 percent at $106.07 a barrel.

* Brent May crude contract gained 13 cents a barrel to $124.25. In the previous session, it settled at $124.12 a barrel, down $1.59 on the day and off earlier lows of $123.20.

* Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said the kingdom was pumping 9.9 million barrels per day, the most in decades and supplying every customer request, adding the country was willing to turn the taps to the maximum 12.5 million bpd immediately if needed.

* The market's heavy losses were pared slightly after U.S. inventory data from the American Petroleum Institute showed an unexpected 1.4-million-barrel decline in crude stockpiles last week. The market will now await inventory data from the U.S.

"<API/S> <EIA/S>* France and Germany oppose a release of oil reserves, officials from both countries said.* Venezuela's Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said that a U.S"Energy Information Administration on Wednesday for confirmation of the drawdown. <API/S> <EIA/S>

* France and Germany oppose a release of oil reserves, officials from both countries said.

* Venezuela's Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said that a U.S. and British plan to tap strategic oil reserves was unsustainable in the long term and would only have a limited impact on prices.

* The United States on Tuesday exempted Japan and 10 EU nations from financial sanctions because they have significantly cut purchases of Iranian crude oil, but left Iran's top customers China and India exposed to the possibility of such steps.

* Technical problems have halted exports from Iraq's new oil export terminal for the past week after it loaded 2 million barrels of oil on a tanker, the terminal's first ship, which marked a major increase in export capacity.

* Rebel fighters fled the eastern Syrian city of Deir al-Zor in the face of a fierce army assault, as Russia issued its toughest criticism yet of President Bashar al-Assad's handling of the year-long revolt.

MARKETS NEWS

* Japan's benchmark Nikkei average .N225 was 0.2 percent lower at 10,122.06 on Wednesday, while the broader Topix .TOPX shed 0.4 percent to 865.17. .T

* The dollar was steady against a basket of major currencies .DXY and remained near an 11-month high of 84.187 against the yen hit last week. The euro hovered near a 1-week high around $1.3266 reached earlier this week.

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* A warning about China's growth sparked selling in U.S. energy and industrial shares on Tuesday, but the broader market's losses were contained. .N

DATA/EVENTS

* The following data is expected on Wednesday (GMT):

1130 India M3 Money Supply

1400 U.S. Exist. home sales % chg Feb

1400 U.S.

"EIA petroleum status report Weekly2330 Japan Reuters Tankan DI Mar 20122350 Japan Exports yy Feb 2012(Reporting by Cho Mee-young; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)"Existing home sales Feb

1400 EZ Euroilstock refinery output Feb <O/EUROIL2>

1430 U.S. EIA petroleum status report Weekly

2330 Japan Reuters Tankan DI Mar 2012

2350 Japan Exports yy Feb 2012

(Reporting by Cho Mee-young; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)