UPDATE 6-Oil rises over 3% as demand worries ease amid fewer new coronavirus cases

* U.S. crude stocks rise 7.5 mln bbls vs forecast of 3 mln
bbls
* China's new virus cases fall to lowest since Jan. 30
* OPEC waiting for Russian answer on need for new cut
* U.S. stock markets rise to record highs

(Adds closing prices, quote)
By Scott DiSavino
NEW YORK, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Oil prices rose over 3% on
Wednesday as China reported its lowest daily number of new
coronavirus cases since late January, stoking investor hopes
that fuel demand in the world's second-largest oil consumer may
begin to recover.
Brent LCOc1 futures gained $1.78, or 3.3%, to settle at
$55.79 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI)
CLc1 crude gained $1.23, or 2.5%, to settle at $51.17.
Those were the highest settles for both futures since
January even though the U.S. government reported a
larger-than-expected weekly build in crude inventories that was
countered by a decline in fuel stocks, including an unexpected
gasoline drawdown. EIA/S ENERGYUSA
Crude inventories USOILC=ECI rose 7.5 million barrels last
week, the Energy Information Administration said, compared with
analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 3 million-barrel
rise.
"Gasoline demand is starting to rebound, and the modest
drawdown in refined fuels helped to offset the bearish, blaring
crude oil headline," said John Kilduff, a partner at Again
Capital in New York.
U.S. gasoline refining margins RBc1-CLc1 rose to their
highest since August due to a sharp 4.4% increase in gasoline
futures RBc1 .
According to data through Tuesday, the growth rate of new
coronavirus cases in China has slowed to the lowest since Jan.
30. Still, international experts remained cautious over
forecasting when the outbreak might peak.
"Reports out of China indicating a reduction in the number
of new virus cases forced additional accumulation across various
asset classes today," Jim Ritterbusch, president of Ritterbusch
and Associates in Galena, Illinois, said in a report, noting the
energy complex was also rising with new highs in the stock
market. .N .SPX .IXIC
Travel restrictions to and from China and quarantines have
cut fuel usage. The two biggest Chinese refiners have said they
will reduce their processing by about 940,000 barrels per day
(bpd) as a result of the consumption drop, or about 7% of their
2019 processing runs.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
cut its forecast for global growth in oil demand due to
coronavirus by 230,000 bpd - a fairly modest assessment compared
with other forecasters. The U.S. government on Tuesday cut its growth forecast for
this year by 310,000 bpd. The demand concerns from the outbreak pushed Brent and WTI
to their lowest in 13 months on Monday. Despite recent gains,
both benchmarks are still down more than 20% from highs reached
in January.
On the supply side, OPEC recommended a further cut of
600,000 bpd last week to stem the oil price fall. OPEC is now
waiting for a response from Russia as to whether Moscow would
help execute the cuts. "Clearly, the ongoing developments in China require
continuous monitoring and assessment," OPEC said.
Most Russian oil companies want OPEC's global output curbs
to remain in place for one more quarter.