* Trump fires Bolton, a hard-line adviser and ardent Iran
hawk
* New Saudi energy minister: OPEC+ alliance staying for long
term
* POLL-U.S. crude inventories likely fell for fourth
straight week
* U.S. crude oil stocks fall 7.2 mln bbls last week-API
* Graphic on U.S. inventories: https://tmsnrt.rs/2y7dfqh
(Adds industry data on U.S. crude stockpiles)
By Laila Kearney
NEW YORK, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Oil prices edged lower on
Tuesday after U.S. President Donald Trump fired national
security adviser John Bolton, who took a strident stance against
Iran, raising speculation of a return of Iranian crude exports
to the market.
Saudi Arabia's new energy minister's assurances of continued
output cuts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting
Countries and its allies, however, supported the market.
Brent LCOc1 settled at $62.38 a barrel, shedding 21
cents, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures CLc1
finished 45 cents, or 0.8%, lower at $57.40 a barrel.
Oil prices inched higher in post-settlement trade after
industry data showed a much larger-than-expected fall in U.S.
crude inventories. EIA/S
U.S. crude stocks fell 7.2 million barrels last week, more
than analysts' expectations for 2.7 million-barrel draw, data
from industry group the American Petroleum Institute showed.
Official figures will be released on Wednesday.
Trump abruptly fired Bolton amid disagreements over how to
handle foreign policy challenges such as North Korea, Iran,
Afghanistan and Russia. "The market took that as a sign that the Trump
administration may become less hawkish on Iran, open the talks
and the possibility of the return of Iranian oil," said Phil
Flynn, an analyst at Price Futures Group in Chicago.
Iran's crude oil exports were slashed by more than 80% due
to re-imposed sanctions by the United States after Trump exited
last year Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. In May,
Washington ended sanction waivers given to importers of Iranian
oil, aiming to cut Tehran's exports to zero. The market was further pressured by the U.S. Energy
Information Administration's (EIA) lowering of its spot crude
oil price forecasts, said Bob Yawger, director of energy futures
at Mizuho.
In its latest monthly Short Term Energy Outlook, the EIA
reduced its forecast for spot West Texas Intermediate crude
prices for 2019 to an average of $56.31 per barrel from $57.87
in its August report.
The EIA also reduced its forecast for spot Brent prices for
2019 to an average of $63.39 per barrel from $65.15.
Oil prices were higher earlier in the session after Prince
Abdulaziz bin Salman, Saudi Arabia's new energy minister and a
longtime member of the Saudi delegation to OPEC and its allies,
said the kingdom's policy would not change and a global deal to
cut oil production by 1.2 million barrels per day would be
maintained. He added that the so-called OPEC+ alliance, which includes
non-OPEC producers such as Russia, would be in place for the
long term.
The OPEC+ joint ministerial monitoring committee (JMMC),
which reports on compliance with the cuts, is due to meet on
Thursday in Abu Dhabi.
Goldman Sachs lowered its forecast on 2019 oil demand growth
to 1 million bpd, down 100,000 bpd, but left its 2020 demand
growth estimate broadly unchanged at 1.4 million bpd.
"Our oil supply-demand outlook for 2020 calls for additional
OPEC production cuts to keep inventories near normal," Goldman
analysts wrote in a note.
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GRAPHIC: U.S. crude inventories https://tmsnrt.rs/2y7mC9g
CHART: U.S. oil may extend gains to $59.75 L3N2610NS
CHART: Brent oil may rise to $64.57 L3N26104Q
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