NYMEX-Crude edges above $90, inventory drop supports

TOKYO, Sept 27 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures edged above $90 a barrel on Thursday and were on track to snap three straight days of losses, supported by short-covering and data that showed an unexpected drop in U.S. crude inventory.

FUNDAMENTALS

* NYMEX crude for November delivery was up 35 cents at $90.33 a barrel by 0039 GMT, after settling down $1.39 at $89.98 on Wednesday, its lowest settlement since Aug. 2, amid concerns about global economic growth. The contract fell as low as $88.95 on Wednesday, the lowest intraday price since $87.23 on Aug. 3.

* London Brent crude for November delivery was up 29 cents at $110.33 a barrel, after settling down 41 cents.

* The dispute between the West and Iran over Tehran's nuclear programme also continued to support prices.

Iran's president said on Wednesday his country was under constant threat of military action and called for a new world order not dominated by Western powers.

* Worries over Europe's debt crisis continued to drag on prices, however, with anti-austerity demonstrators and police clashing in Athens and Madrid, pushing the euro to a two-week low against the dollar.

* The Bank of Spain said the country's gross domestic product fell at a "significant rate" in the third quarter, helping pressure European equities to their worst session in two months.

* U.S. government data showed that crude inventories unexpectedly fell 2.45 million barrels last week, as crude imports plunged.

U.S. gasoline inventories also unexpectedly declined 481,000 barrels, while distillate stocks, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 482,000 barrels to 127.75 million barrels, compared with analysts' average forecast for an increase of 800,000 barrels.

* The leaders of Sudan and South Sudan reached a border security deal on Wednesday that will restart badly needed oil exports, but failed to solve the other main conflicts left over when Africa's largest country split last year.

The south had shut down its entire 350,000 barrels a day of output in January after the countries argued about transit fees.

MARKETS NEWS

* The S&P 500 fell for a fifth straight trading day on Wednesday as protests in Spain and Greece over euro zone austerity measures raised fresh concerns over Europe's ability to get its debt crisis under control.

* The euro was at two-week lows on Thursday, having suffered a third day of declines.

DATA/EVENTS

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

- 0800 Euro Zone Money-M3 annual growth August

- 0830 UK GDP final Q2

- 0900 Euro Zone Business climate September

- 1230 U.S. GDP Final Q2

- 1230 U.S. Durable goods August

- 1230 U.S. Initial jobless claims

- 1230 U.S. Midwest manufacturing August

- 1400 U.S. Pending home sales August

- 1430 U.S. EIA underground natural gas stocks

- 1500 U.S. KC Fed manufacturing Sept (Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori; Editing by Joseph Radford)