NYMEX-Oil up near $80/bbl as strongest year since 1999 closes

SINGAPORE, Dec 31 (Reuters) - Oil traded higher on
Thursday, up for a seventh consecutive day and trading just shy
of $80 a barrel, propelled higher by a drawdown in oil stocks
and cold weather across the U.S Northeast.

FUNDAMENTALS

* U.S. crude for February delivery CLc1 rose 24 cents to
$79.52 a barrel by 0031 GMT, having settled 41 cents higher on
Wednesday at $79.28, with the market eyeing an annual close
above $80.

* Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration
showed crude oil stockpiles across the world's top energy
consumer fell by 1.5 million barrels in the week to Dec. 25,
just shy of a forecast 2 million-barrel drawdown. [EIA/S]

* Temperatures were expected to remain unseasonably cold
for the next 48 hours, according to forecaster Meteorlogix.
[WEA]

* Oil has risen almost 80 percent this year and with just a
few hours of trading left for 2009, crude is set for its
strongest annual performance in a decade, recovering from a
five-year low below $33 at the start of the year.

MARKETS NEWS

* The dollar rose against most currencies on Wednesday,
hitting its highest level against the yen in more than three
months on year-end buying and a report suggesting the U.S.
economy is on a stable path to recovery. [USD/]

* U.S. stocks ended a smidgen higher in very light trading
on Wednesday as a stronger-than-expected report on Midwest U.S.
business activity was offset by investors taking profits in
some of the year's better performers. [.N]

DATA/EVENTS

* The following data is expected on Thursday ECON:

- UK nationwide house price data (0700 GMT)

- UK Nov mortgage lending, consumer credit (0930 GMT)

- BOE Q4 credit conditions survey (0930 GMT)

- Weekly U.S. jobless claims (1330 GMT)

- U.S. ECRI weekly (1530 GMT)

To read the previous day's closing report click on [O/R]

To read the previous technical report click on [O/I]

Diary of upcoming energy news and events [O/DIARY]
(Reporting by Nick Trevethan; Editing by Valerie Lee)