* Iranian tanker hit near Saudi port city of Jeddah
* Brent and WTI register biggest daily gain since Saudi
attacks
* Prices then recede from session highs, Brent slips below
$60/bbl
* IEA cuts oil demand forecasts
(Updates prices)
By Shadia Nasralla
LONDON, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Oil prices rose as high as $60.65
a barrel on Friday after Iranian media said a state-owned oil
tanker had been attacked in the Red Sea near Saudi Arabia, but
bearish oil demand forecasts soon pulled crude off session
highs.
The Iranian Suezmax crude tanker was struck in the Red Sea
off Saudi Arabia's coast on Friday, Iranian media said, with
various reports differing on the level of damage caused.
The National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) said the ship was
damaged but stable and denied initial reports it had been set
ablaze. Both oil benchmarks recorded their biggest daily rise since
Sept. 16, the first trading day after attacks on Saudi
installations knocked out more than half of the kingdom's crude
output and temporarily pushed oil prices up by about 20%.
Friday's initial boost from the Iranian news wore off as
trading continued. Brent crude futures LCOc1 were up 73 cents
at $59.83 a barrel by 1349 GMT and U.S. West Texas Intermediate
(WTI) crude CLc1 futures rose 62 cents to $54.17.
Iranian oil exports are under U.S. sanctions that have
diminished Iran's impact on the global supply picture.
"The market still has fresh memories of the Saudi Arabia
attacks and the very quick price reversals afterwards. The price
results of attacks this year have not been sustained in terms of
risk premium," said Petromatrix analyst Olivier Jakob.
"In terms of oil prices, the impact is limited unless you
think Iran is going to retaliate in the Strait of Hormuz ...
It's going to be more supportive in the freight market.
Potentially it can increase insurance premiums (on tankers)."
The United States has issued sanctions on units of Chinese
shipper COSCO, alleging involvement in ferrying crude out of
Iran, which has boosted rates for oil tankers. Tensions in the Middle East have escalated in the wake of
attacks on tankers and U.S. drones in the Strait of Hormuz, a
key shipping artery for the global oil trade.
Keeping a lid on prices, the International Energy Agency
(IEA) on Friday said that global oil markets had recovered
quickly from the Saudi attacks and even face oversupply next
year as global demand slows.
Troubled economic prospects for 2020 prompted the IEA to
reduce its forecast for oil demand growth by 100,000 barrels per
day (bpd) to 1.2 million bpd.
"The market will be weighing this attack against the more
bearish headlines stemming from the IEA's latest monthly oil
market report," BNP Paribas global oil strategist Harry
Tchilinguirian told the Reuters Global Oil Forum.
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Iranian oil tanker Sabiti https://tmsnrt.rs/2B5JJ5q
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