Oil slips below $47 after stock build LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices fell to three-month lows under $47 a barrel on Thursday, battered by a report showing that unexpectedly strong crude imports had swelled already bulging stockpiles in the United States. U.S. light sweet crude for June delivery (CLc1: Quote , Profile , Research ) dropped as low as $46.88 a barrel in early trade, before climbing back to sit 10 cents down at $47.15 a barrel by 0930 GMT. Brent (LCOc1: Quote , Profile , Research ) fell five cents to $48.10 in London. Wednesday's $1.72 fall on U.S. crude increased the distance from April's all-time high of $58.28, although prices still remain nine percent up in 2005 so far. That fall was triggered by a U.S. government report showing crude inventories in the world's top consumer climbed 4.3 million barrels last week to 334 million, the highest since July 1999, when oil cost nearly $30 less. Stockbuilds have been driven by plentiful supply of OPEC crudes, particularly in the U.S. Gulf, and by unseasonally low refinery runs in the same region due to maintenance. Analysts see support from increased refinery throughput ahead, but they are divided over whether this will come soon. Year-on-year crude input to U.S. refineries is down 2.1 percent on a four-week average basis, according to Wednesday's Energy Information Administration report. "Refiners remain off-line as they wait for scarce turnaround crews...Assuming another couple of weeks before refiners return to running full bore, more stock builds are likely," wrote analysts at PFC Energy. "The market has turned significantly more bearish in recent weeks, meaning that prices may have further to slide." Others saw a quicker rebound. "The oil market seems to be close to the point of maximum bearishness, signaling that a bottom is near," analysts at Barclays Capital wrote. NYMEX oil closed significantly below its 200-day moving average on Wednesday, and traders said they were also looking to see whether investors would respond to this change in what is often a key buy/sell trigger for speculative funds. OPEC PRESSING AHEAD     Continued ... Quelle "Oil slips below $47 after stock build" : reuters.com Main page for "Oil slips below $47 after stock build"