SINGAPORE, Oct 23 (Reuters) - U.S. oil futures steadied above $98 a barrel on Wednesday, near their weakest level in almost four months, amid swelling crude stockpiles in the world's top consumer that kept Brent's premium to the U.S. contract at its widest since April.

FUNDAMENTALS

* U.S. crude for December delivery CLc1 was off 5 cents at $98.25 a barrel by 0056 GMT. The November futures, the previous front-month contract, which expired on Tuesday hit a low of $97.50, its weakest since July 1.

* Brent crude LCOc1 gained 7 cents to $110.04 a barrel.

* The Brent/WTI spread CL-LCO1=R rose to as much as $11.94 on Wednesday, the most since April 15. The price gap could deter U.S. imports of overseas crude and may bolster inland margins.

* Recent data showing that crude stockpiles in Cushing, Oklahoma, were rising again after a 14-week decline fueled selling pressure in the U.S. contract.

* Figures from industry group American Petroleum Institute showed stocks at the U.S. oil storage hub rose last week by 423 million barrels for the second week in a row, while U.S. crude inventories rose by 3 million barrels. API/S

* But hopes the Federal Reserve will maintain its economic stimulus for longer could keep oil's losses in check. A smaller than forecast increase of 148,000 in U.S. nonfarm payrolls for September backed expectations the Fed could keep its monthly bond buying into next year. ID:nL1N0IC0S8

* Iran is reaching out to its old oil buyers and is ready to cut prices if Western sanctions against it are eased, promising a battle for market share in a world less hungry for oil than when sanctions were imposed. ID:nL5N0IC339

MARKETS NEWS

* The dollar wobbled near two-year lows against the euro after disappointing U.S. jobs data cemented expectations that the Federal Reserve will keep its stimulus in place at least until early next year. USD/

DATA/EVENTS (GMT)

0645 France Business climate FRCOMP=ECI

1230 U.S. Import/export prices USIMP=ECI

1300 U.S. FHFA home price index USHPIY=ECI

1400 Euro zone Consumer confidence EUCONF=ECI

1400 U.S. Employment trend index USEMPI=ECI

1430 U.S. EIA weekly crude stocks USOILC=ECI

(Reporting by Manolo Serapio Jr.; Editing by Richard Pullin)

((manolo.serapio@thomsonreuters.com)(+65 6870 3884)(Reuters Messaging: manolo.serapio.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) 

 ((CRUDE OIL TRADES      Asia... 
  ACRU/T
        Europe... 
  CRU/T
      Americas... 
  CRU/TU
                                 CRUDE OIL MARKET NEWS      Crude oil tenders in Asia........................ 
  CRU/TENDA
        Crude oil supply outages in Asia............ 
  CRU/OUT-ASIA-O
        Refinery outages in Asia.................... 
  REF/OUT-ASIA-O
        Global arbitrage news and flows................. 
  O/CRUDEARB
        W.African crude imports to Asia, monthly........ 
  O/WAFRICA1
                              REFINERY MAINTENANCE DIARIES      Asia... 
  REF/A
       Middle East... 
  REF/ME
     Europe... 
  REF/E
                                 NATIONAL CRUDE IMPORT DATA      Japan.............. 
  METI/JP1
     China.............. 
  O/CHINA1
        India.............. 
  O/INDIA2
     S.Korea............ 
  O/KOREA1
        Indonesia....... 
  O/INDO1-CRU
                                    CRUDE OIL INVENTORY DATA      Japan... 
  O/JAPAN1
       US... 
  EIA/S
       Europe... 
  O/EUROIL1
                              CRUDE OIL PRODUCTION/OILFIELD NEWS      OPEC output survey... 
  OPEC/O
     New Asian fields... 
  ASIA/NEW
        New Africa fields... 
  AFR/NEW
     New Europe fields.. 
  NSEA/NEW
        New Americas fields.. 
  AM/NEW
     New projects..... 
  ENERGY/NEW
                                 CRUDE OIL MARKET REPORTS      Middle East........... 
  CRU/M
     Asia-Pacific........ 
  CRU/AP
        West Africa......... 
  CRU/WAF
     North Sea............ 
  CRU/E
        Asia outlook....... 
  ASIA/CRU
     Europe outlook..... 
  EUR/CRU
        Global futures report... 
  O/R
     Technicals report...... 
  O/I
                                      PRICES      For all Official Selling Prices...................... 
  OSP/O
        For a POLL on oil prices............................ 
  O/POLL
        NYMEX and ICE oil futures........................... 
  OILOIL
        TOCOM crude oil futures............................. 
  0#JCO:
        Dubai, Oman swaps and spread............... 
  ASIA/SWAP/CRUDE
        Middle East physical crude diffs............... 
  CRUDE/ASIA2
        Australia physical crude, Tapis swaps.......... 
  CRUDE/ASIA1
        Asia-Pacific physical crude.................... 
  CRUDE/ASIA3
        All Asian crude oil differentials................ 
  0#C-DIF-A
        All Asian crude oil outright prices.................. 
  0#C-A
  ))

Keywords: MARKETS ASIA NYMEX/