Oil rises above $72 on US summer gasoline concern

SINGAPORE, June 28 (Reuters) Oil edged above 72 a barrel on Wednesday on concerns over disruptions to gasoline supply during peak summer demand in the world's top consumer the United States.

U.S. crude was up 22 cents at .14 a barrel by 0253 GMT, adding to gains of more than a dollar this week. London Brent crude rose 20 cents to .18.

Gasoline demand in the United States holds strong, while the closure of a key shipping channel near Lake Charles, Louisiana, is disrupting crude supplies to three nearby refineries and limiting their fuel output.

Citgo Petroleum Corp. said on Tuesday the U.S. Energy Department approved a 250,000-barrel loan from the national Strategic Petroleum Reserve for its 440,000 barrel per day (bpd) refinery in Lake Charles.

The plant has been without new crude supplies for six days after the Calcasieu Ship Channel was shut on June 21 because of an oil spill from Citgo's terminal facility. Citgo said the refinery's output was slightly reduced because of the closure.

ConocoPhillips also requested on Tuesday a 500,000-barrel loan for its 225,000 bpd refinery in Lake Charles. The U.S.

Coast Guard said on Tuesday it expects the channel to be closed between two and four more days as the clean-up continues.

The disruptions come just ahead of the July 4 Independence Day holiday, when peak summer travel in the United States will be busier than ever despite high fuel prices, automobile group AAA said on Tuesday.

The next signal on demand will come from inventory data due later on Wednesday, forecast by analysts in a Reuters survey to show that domestic gasoline supplies rose only slightly last week, as strong demand continued at above 9 million bpd.

The inventory data is also expected to show an 800,000-barrel drop in domestic crude supplies, due to the closure of the Louisiana shipping channel.

U.S. crude has traded between and a barrel for more than a month as the market balances geopolitical tensions and rising global demand against inflation fears and brimming U.S.

fuel stocks.

U.S. Federal Reserve policy-makers, gathering on Wednesday and Thursday, are expected to raise interest rates and signal that further increases may be needed to keep inflation in check.

Adjusted for inflation, oil is at its most costly since 1980, the year after the Iranian revolution, and is holding near its record .35 hit in April after climbing from at the start of 2002.

Prices have been driven up by fund buying amid fears over real and potential disruptions. OPEC's No. 2 producer Iran repeated on Sunday it stood ready to use its 2.5 million bpd of exports in self-defence if threatened by a dispute over its nuclear programme.

OPEC producers have been pumping at near full tilt in a bid to bring down prices. But Saudi Arabia cannot sell some of its crude production due to a lack of buying interest from oil refiners, the kingdom's ambassador to the United States told a conference in Houston on Tuesday.

REUTERS KD BST0918