* Brent, WTI futures both up 0.3%
* Brent to hold near $63 in 2020, WTI around $57 - poll
* U.S. crude stocks fell by 7.8 mln bbls last week - API
By Jane Chung
SEOUL, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on the first
trading day of 2020 as warming trade relations between the
United States and China eased demand concerns, and rising
tensions in the Middle East raised worries about supply.
Global benchmark Brent crude futures LCOc1 , were up 21
cents, or 0.3%, to 66.21 a barrel by 0130 GMT. U.S. West Texas
Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 was up 21 cents, or 0.3%, at
$61.27 per barrel.
Oil markets were closed on Wednesday for New Year's Day.
Both benchmarks ended higher in 2019, posting their biggest
annual gains since 2016, buoyed at the end of the year by a thaw
in the prolonged trade dispute between the United States and
China - the world's two largest economies - and a deeper output
cut pledged by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries
(OPEC) and its allies.
"Oil remains supported by the back-burner trade truce and
the uptick in political unrest in Iraq," said Stephen Innes,
chief Asia market strategist at AxiTrader.
Geopolitical risks remain in the Middle East after U.S air
strikes against the Iran-backed Katib Hezbollah militia group
over the weekend. Protesters, angry at the air strikes, stormed
the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad on Wednesday, although they withdrew
after U.S. deployed extra troops.
In 2020, Brent is forecast to average $63.07 a barrel, up
from December's estimate of $62.50, while WTI is forecast to
average $57.70 a barrel, up from December's estimate of $57.30,
as the OPEC-led supply cuts and the expectations of a U.S.-China
trade deal boosted analysts' views on the prospects for the
year, a Reuters poll showed.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday the U.S.-China
Phase 1 trade deal would be signed on Jan. 15 at the White
House.
January also marks the start of the deeper output cuts by
OPEC and its partners, including Russia. OPEC and its allies
have agreed to cut a further of 500,000 barrels per day (bpd)
from Jan. 1, on top of their previous cut of 1.2 million bpd
that started on Jan. 1 a year ago.
A fall in U.S. crude inventories last week also supported
prices. U.S. crude inventories fell by 7.8 million barrels in
the week ended Dec. 27, compared with analysts' expectations for
a decrease of 3.2 million barrels, according to data from the
American Petroleum Institute (API) released on Tuesday. API/S
Official data from the Energy Information Administration
(EIA) is due on Friday as the release has been delayed by two
days by the New Year's holiday. EIA/S