Brent was steady below $117 a barrel on Wednesday, supported by disruptions to oil supplies to top consumer the US and political upheaval in Yemen, while weak economic data from the world's largest economy weighed on the market.

Fresh hopes of a new bailout package for debt-laden Greece lifted the euro to a three-week high against the dollar and eased concern about fuel demand in the region.

Brent crude was flat at $116.73 a barrel at 0452 GMT, after touching a three-week high of $117.49 in intraday trading on Tuesday. The sell-off in commodities earlier in May led to Brent posting a 7.3 percent loss for the month, its biggest monthly percentage loss in a year.

US crude gained 21 cents to reach $102.91 a barrel.

'The ongoing tension in Yemen is raising concerns while crude supply disruptions are also supportive of oil prices,' said Singapore-based oil analyst Serene Lim of ANZ Bank.

Pipeline disruptions to US supply have hit the world's largest oil consumer just as it enters the summer driving season.

TransCanada Corp said it will take several days to re-open its 591,000 barrel per day (bpd) Keystone oil pipeline to Cushing, Oklahoma, oil hub after the second spill in less than a month forced it to shut at the weekend.

Enbridge Inc restored power on Wednesday to three pumping stations on a 290,000 bpd pipeline that had lost electricity supply after severe storms.

Flashpoints in Yemen have multiplied this week with fighting in the capital, government troops gunning down protesters in Taiz in the south and a battle with al Qaeda and Islamic militants in the coastal city of Zinjibar.

Yemen is a small independent producer, but the concern for oil markets is of chaos in Yemen, a haven for al Qaeda militants, spreading to neighbour and the world's biggest oil exporter Saudi Arabia.

Technical analysis for Brent and US crude was bullish, with 24-hour targets at $118.43 and $105.10 a barrel respectively, said Reuters market analyst Wang Tao.

US, China and Europe

The growth outlook for the US and China, the world's top oil importers, weighed on crude.

China's official purchasing managers' index hit a nine-month low in May, a survey showed on Wednesday, reinforcing evidence that economic growth is slowing under the weight of government credit curbs and power shortages.

While analysts expect the rate of fuel demand growth in China to slow this year, investors are wary of any sign of a sharper than expected slowdown in the country's economy.

On Tuesday, US consumer confidence slid in May as consumers turned more pessimistic on the outlook for the labor market and inflation worries rose, according to a private sector report released on Tuesday.

Also, US single-family home prices dropped in March, dipping below their 2009 low, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller composite index of 20 metropolitan areas.

The euro gained slightly on Wednesday on a report that the European Union, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank were expected to finalise a financial aid package for Greece in the coming days.

A weaker dollar supports the prices of commodities denominated in the US currency by making them cheaper for holders of other currencies.US crude inventories fell last week as imports declined, a preliminary Reuters poll ahead of weekly industry and government reports on Wednesday and Thursday.

The data releases were delayed for a day because of the US Memorial Day holiday on Monday. – Reuters