NYMEX-Crude steadies above $91, weaker oil demand pressures

SINGAPORE Oct 11 (Reuters) - U.S. crude steadied above $91 a barrel on Thursday, as traders balanced escalating geopolitical risks with signs of weakening global oil demand.

FUNDAMENTALS

* NYMEX crude for November delivery nudged up six cents to $91.31 a barrel in early Asia trading, after dropping more than a dollar the previous session.

* Global oil demand is looking weaker than previously forecast as the slowing economy continues to weigh on consumption, according to monthly reports released on Wednesday by the U.S. government and OPEC.

* U.S. crude stocks rose 1.6 million barrels last week, the industry group American Petroleum Institute said on Wednesday, more than the consensus of analyst expectations. The EIA will release its weekly inventory report later on Thursday.

* Turkey's military chief of staff said on Wednesday his troops would respond with greater force if bombardments from Syria keep hitting Turkish territory.

MARKETS NEWS

* Standard & Poor's on Wednesday cut Spain's sovereign credit rating to BBB- minus, just above junk territory, citing a deepening economic recession that is limiting the government's policy options to arrest the slide.

* The International Monetary Fund urged European policymakers to deepen the financial and fiscal ties within the euro area with some urgency to restore sagging confidence in the global financial system.

* China's annual economic growth probably slowed for a seventh straight quarter in the July-September period to its weakest level since the depths of the global financial crisis, a Reuters poll showed.

DATA/EVENTS

* The following data is expected on Thursday:

0500 Japan Consumer confid. index Sep

1430 U.S. EIA natural gas stocks Weekly

1500 U.S. EIA petroleum status report Weekly

(Reporting by Randy Fabi; Editing by Richard Pullin)