UPDATE 9-Oil prices steady as virus deaths rise, demand worries persist

* Blast heard in Saudi capital Riyadh, cause unclear
* Death toll in Britain from coronavirus passes 100,000
people
* U.S. crude stocks drop, fuel inventories higher -API

(Adds API data)
By Devika Krishna Kumar
NEW YORK, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Oil prices were little changed
on Tuesday as rising coronavirus deaths fed worries about the
global demand outlook, but losses were capped by reports of a
blast in Saudi Arabia.
Brent crude LCOc1 ended the session up 3 cents, or 0.05%,
at $55.91 while U.S. crude fell 16 cents, or 0.3%, to settle at
$52.61.
U.S. crude futures pared losses and Brent crude inched
higher in post-settlement trade after data from the American
Petroleum Institute showed U.S. crude inventories fell by 5.3
million barrels in the week to Jan. 22 to about 481.8 million
barrels, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll
for a build of 430,000 barrels. API/S
Indonesia, the world's fourth-most-populous country,
surpassed a million confirmed coronavirus cases on Tuesday while
the death toll in Britain passed 100,000 people as the
government battled to speed up vaccination delivery and keep
variants of the virus at bay.
The number of cases in the United States crossed 25 million
on Sunday, a Reuters tally showed. Further dampening bullish sentiment, U.S. Democrats are
still trying to convince Republican lawmakers of the need for
more stimulus, raising questions over when and in what form a
package will be approved. "Big COVID numbers, vaccine struggles and uncertainty
surrounding the Biden stimulus plan, are all conspiring to
pressure prices," said Robert Yawger, director of energy futures
at Mizuho Securities USA.
Compared to some other countries, vaccine roll-outs in the
European Union have been slow and fraught with problems, not
least interruptions to supply chains. Prices edged up briefly after reports of a blast in the
Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh, although the cause was unclear.
Oil prices were also supported by geopolitical tensions
after two supertankers, with crew members from Iran and China,
were seized on Sunday in Indonesian waters near Kalimantan
island for suspected illegal oil transfers.
"Prices are likely to hold back if the Indonesian vessel
seizure gets resolved quickly and if today's blast in Saudi
Arabia proves to be an isolated incident that does not escalate
regional tensions, consequently not affecting oil output," said
Rystad Energy's head of oil markets Bjornar Tonhaugen.
"Oil demand is definitely under pressure currently and will
be for a while until lockdowns are lifted and COVID-19 infection
speed slows down"
China is reporting rising COVID-19 cases, casting a pall
over demand prospects in the world's largest energy consumer.
Elsewhere, Indian crude oil imports in December
rose to their highest in more than two years.
Raising the prospect of higher oil demand later in the year,
the International Monetary Fund predicted global growth of 5.5%
in 2021, an increase of 0.3 percentage points from the October
forecast, citing expectations of a vaccine-powered
uptick. <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
GRAPHIC: U.S. oil may retest resistance at $52.98
Brent oil may rise into $56.21-$56.64 range
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