* OPEC cuts demand forecasts in latest monthly report

* Shell declares force majeure in Nigeria

NEW YORK, April 15 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures edged up in
choppy trading Wednesday as the market awaited fresh government oil
inventory data and despite an OPEC report forecasting more demand
drop-off.

Shell's force majeure declaration in Nigeria and data showing consumer
prices fell unexpectedly in March were seen as supportive, though
offsetting were the demand forecasts and American Petroleum Institute data
on Tuesday showing a big rise in crude oil supplies last week, sources
said.

OPEC's report echoed reports earlier in the week from the International
Energy Agency and the U.S. Energy Information Administration both revising
lower their demand forecasts.

API said that in the week to April 10, domestic crude stocks rose 6.5
million barrels to 371.2 million barrels. Gasoline stocks fell 613,000
barrels, while distillate stocks increased 87,000 barrels. [API/S]

EIA will issue its inventory report Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. EDT (1430
GMT).

A Reuters analyst survey yielded a forecast of a 1.9-million-barrel
increase in crude supplies, a 400,000-barrel drop in gasoline stocks and an
800,000-barrel decrease in distillates. [EIA/S]

PRICES

* On the New York Mercantile Exchange on Wednesday at 9:46 a.m., May
crude CLK9 was up 80 cents, or 1.62 percent, at $50.21 a barrel, trading
from $48.92 to $50.79.

* In London, May Brent LCOK9 rose 18 cents, or 0.35 percent, to
$52.14 a barrel, trading from $51.53 to $52.87.

* NYMEX May RBOB RBK9 rose 0.84 cent, or 0.58 percent, to $1.4660 a
gallon, trading from $1.4440 to $1.4795.

* NYMEX May heating oil HOK9 rose 0.75 cent, or 0.53, percent, to
$1.4098 a gallon, trading from $1.3868 to $1.4252.

* The May/May RBOB crack spread <0#RB-CL=R> was at $11.66 a barrel. It
ended at $11.81 on Tuesday. The May/May heating oil crack spread
<0#CL-HO=R> was at $9.28. It ended Tuesday at $9.49.

* The spread between the current front month and the five-year forward
crude contract CLc61 was at $25.10, based on the May 2014 contract's
Tuesday settlement at $75.31. The spread ended at $26.90 on Tuesday.

TECHNICALS

NYMEX crude 10-day/20-day moving average: $50.51/$51.06

Technical support/resistance:

NYMEX crude: $48.76/$52.95

NYMEX heating oil: $1.3655/$1.4510

NYMEX RBOB: $1.4235/1.5085

For a report on technicals click [ID:nLF460858]

MARKET NEWS

* World oil demand is shrinking faster than previously thought, OPEC
said. The group said that demand would drop by 1.37 million barrels per day
in 2009. [ID:n4577]

* U.S. consumer prices fell unexpectedly in March, the Consumer Price
Index fell 0.1 percent. [ID:nN14446536]

* Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile, Research) declared force majeure on Bonny Light
crude oil exports in April and May. [ID:nLF340996]

* Nigeria's main militant group warned of further clashes with the
military. [ID:nLF98411]

* U.S. equities were weaker at the open. [.N]

* World stocks were steady to weaker. [MKTS/GLOB]

* U.S. industrial production fell an unexpectedly sharp 1.5 percent in
March, Federal Reserve data showed. For the first quarter as a whole,
output dropped at an annual rate of 20 percent. [ID:nN15463426]

* Japan's refineries ran at a 6-month low rate of 70.8 percent last
week, down 7.7 percentage points, on shutdowns and weak demand. But crude
inventories still fell for the first time in three weeks, implying lower
imports. [ID:nT260403]
(Reporting by Robert Gibbons; Editing by John Picinich)