Reuters - U.S. crude hovered in a tight band early on Wednesday, a day after prices rose as investors squared positions amid signs of strength in the U.S. economy and ahead of data on government petroleum inventories.

FUNDAMENTALS

* U.S. crude for February delivery was up 2 cents at $92.61 a barrel by 0002 GMT, after finishing 79 cents higher on Tuesday.

* Weekly crude stocks fell by 4.1 million barrels with a nominal build at the benchmark delivery point in Cushing, Oklahoma, data from the industry group American Petroleum Institute showed on Tuesday, against an average decrease of 600,000 barrels projected in a Reuters poll of analysts.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration, a government association, is expected to release its own stockpile data at 1530 GMT.

* Libya's Prime Minister Ali Zeidan said on Tuesday the government would give mediators a chance to end a standoff with protesters blockading eastern oil ports, seeking a peaceful solution even after an escalation of the dispute over crude exports.

* UBS Investment Research on Tuesday raised its Brent crude oil price forecast on a pick-up in U.S. oil demand and disappointing supply growth outside North America.

The bank also expected the spread between Brent and U.S. WTI crude to shrink to $6.50 a barrel as new pipeline capacity comes online.

MARKETS NEWS

* The yen and Australian dollar nursed heavy losses early on Wednesday, having suffered a swift turnaround in fortunes as a shakeout in long dollar positions came to an abrupt end following upbeat U.S. retail sales data.

* U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday, erasing much of the previous session's steep drop, as a strong December retail sales reading eased concerns that economic growth might be slowing.

* The 19-commodity Thomson Reuters/CoreCommodity CRB index rose a quarter of a percentage point on Tuesday, following gains in 12 of the 19 markets it tracked, including natural gas and many base metals like nickel.

DATA/EVENTS

* The following data is expected on Wednesday: (Time in GMT)

0200 China New yuan loans

0200 China M2 money supply

0800 Germany 2013 GDP

1000 Euro zone Trade data

1330 U.S. Producer prices

1330 U.S. New York Fed manufacturing