Oil near $59 on Alaska outage, eyes stock draw

LONDON, Nov 21 (Reuters) Oil prices edged 0.3 percent higher on Tuesday after bad weather forced a loading halt at Alaska's main export terminal and analysts forecast a drawdown in U.S. fuel stocks ahead of winter.

U.S. crude was up 16 cents at .96 a barrel by 0930 GMT, reversing Monday's 17-cent loss. London Brent crude rose 18 cents to .16.

Prices got a lift from news that crude loadings at the port of Valdez, Alaska, were halted on Monday. High winds forced operators to suspend loadings at the port, slowing the 800,000 barrel per day Trans Alaska Pipeline to 25 percent of capacity.

Analysts still expect U.S crude stocks rose for the fourth week in a row by 700,000 barrels last week, according to a Reuters poll of industry analysts ahead of data due Wednesday.

But they said distillate stocks, including winter heating oil, are likely to have fallen by 900,000 barrels. [EIA/S] Weather forecaster WSI Corp said on Monday the U.S. Northeast, the world's largest heating oil market, will have a colder than normal winter.

''Seasonal market fundamentals may have had more to do with stabilising prices than promise of output cuts from OPEC,'' said the Centre for Global Energy Studies.

Oil prices that tumbled sharply from a mid-July record high of .40 a barrel have steadied at around - a barrel since early October. OPEC is on alert to make a further round of production cuts at its Dec. 14 meeting if necessary.

REUTERS KR GC1528