Oil below $59 on OPEC forecast, US retail sales

Oil eased below $59 a barrel on Wednesday, a day after hitting a six-month high, pressured by OPEC's forecast of lower world oil demand in 2009 and a drop in U.S. retail sales in April.

Sales at U.S. retailers fell for a second straight month in April, pulled down by sluggish gasoline and electronic goods purchases, government data showed.

U.S. crude for June was down 9 cents at $58.76 a barrel. It climbed to an intraday peak of $60.08, the highest since November, on Tuesday. London Brent crude was off 20 cents to $57.74.

Besides lowering its 2009 oil demand forecast, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries in a monthly report said the oil market remained out of balance.

"Prices have remained above $50 per barrel due more to market sentiment than fundamentals. Considerable risks remain as oil market fundamentals are far from balanced…," said the report from OPEC's economists.

Earlier, oil was supported by a report on Tuesday from the American Petroleum Institute which said U.S. crude inventories fell 3.1 million barrels last week, against a forecast of a 1.4 million-barrel increase.

Traders were waiting for the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) data on inventories at 1430 GMT to confirm the fall in crude stocks. Dealers consider the EIA to provide a more complete snapshot of supplies.

Adding to positive sentiment was data that showed Chinese refinery output accelerated in April and posted a near-record high on daily basis as refiners stepped up supplies amid a recent big drawdown in inventories.

Coupled with the second-highest ever daily crude imports last month, signs point to a strong rebound in fuel demand for the world's second-biggest oil consumer.

Oil has plunged from a record high above $147 a barrel hit last July, but a rally in stock markets over the last few months has helped lift crude almost 80 percent from a January low of $32.70 a barrel.