* "Fiscal cliff" hopes lift Asian shares, other riskier assets
* Seaway pipeline expansion news supports U.S. oil
* Brent to rebound to $109.02 -technicals
(Adds details, updates prices)
By Manash Goswami
SINGAPORE, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Brent crude rose above $108 a barrel on Tuesday as the outlook for oil demand improved on signs of progress in U.S. talks to resolve a budget crisis that threatens to dip the world's top oil consumer into recession again.
Optimism that the U.S. "fiscal cliff" tussle could be settled before tax hikes and spending cuts kick in early next year boosted riskier assets after President Barack Obama made an offer to Republicans that included a major change in position on tax hikes for the wealthy.
"Oil is tracking the positive reaction in equities from New York to Asia over hopes of a resolution of the U.S. fiscal crisis," said Tetsu Emori, a Tokyo-based commodities fund manager at Astmax Investment.
U.S. oil is drawing support from news of an expansion in the pipeline capacity in the United States that may help narrow the spread between the two contracts, Emori said.
Brent crude
A resolution to the so-called U.S. fiscal cliff may help support oil prices, which have been capped, with Brent trading between a high of $112 and a low of $104 since November, in part because of an uncertain demand outlook.
"The market will view any advance in talks as positive for confidence which has been battered by the daily flow of political fighting," Ben Taylor, sales trader at CMC Markets said in a report. "Regardless of what is decided, the market is looking for a decision and any compromise will help provide a clearer picture for the future."
The differences over how to resolve the "fiscal cliff" narrowed significantly Monday night as, in its most dramatic position change yet, the White House proposed leaving lower tax rates in place for everyone except those earning $400,000 and above, a source familiar with the talks said.
That's up from the $250,000 threshold the president has been demanding for months, but still far from Republican House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner's preference of $1 million.
The possible end to the stalemate comes as data points to a revival in demand in China, renewing investor optimism over the world's top two oil consumers.
"We have also seen an improvement coming from China. Their refinery output is increasing and that is leading to higher imports," Emori said. "That is also supporting prices."
Brent is expected to rebound to $109.02 per barrel, as it did not break a support at $107.54, while U.S. oil may break a resistance at $87.77 and rise into a range of $88.28 to $88.37, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
For a 24-hr analysis on Brent:
GRAPHIC on Asia's crude imports from Iran:
ANALYSIS-shale oil and California refiners: ID:nL1E8NE31N]
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
SPREAD NARROWS, SEAWAY EYED
The spread between the two contracts
Enterprise Products Partners LP
A glut of crude in Cushing has contributed to the heavy discount of U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures to Brent which widened to more than $25 per barrel last month.
The increased capacity will allow more crude from Cushing to the Gulf Coast, where it fetches prices closer to Brent.
Meanwhile, a drawdown of inventories by U.S. refineries for year-end tax purposes may result in a lower reading for stockpiles data due on Tuesday, a Reuters poll showed.
Crude stocks may have dropped by 1 million barrels in the week ended Dec. 14, the poll showed.
(Additional reporting by Ramya Venugopal; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Himani Sarkar)
((Manash.Goswami@thomsonreuters.com +65 68703887 Reuters Messaging: manash.goswami@thomsonreuters.com.reuters.net))
Keywords: MARKETS OIL/
