Canada export agency sees $70 oil as unsustainable

* EDC raises its 2009 oil price view to $55/bbl

* Sees oil sands projects coming back off the shelf (In U.S. dollars unless noted)

By Jeffrey Jones

CALGARY, Alberta, June 9 (Reuters) - Canada's export agency has raised its 2009 oil price forecast, based on recent gains, but its chief economist said on Tuesday he does not believe the fundamentals support current levels just shy of $70 a barrel.

Export Development Canada, a federal financing agency, now sees an average price for West Texas Intermediate oil of about $55 a barrel, up from its last forecast of $47. The higher price would lessen an expected skid in the value of Canada's petroleum exports.

"Clearly, what's happened in the last 20 days has adjusted our thinking a bit," EDC Chief Economist Peter Hall said.

"We're still not looking at going back up into triple digits in an awful hurry here, given market conditions."

Crude has climbed more than 20 percent in the past three weeks, and was selling for around $69.50 a barrel on Tuesday.

Optimism that world economies have suffered through the worst of the recession has helped push prices to double their lows of late 2008 and early 2009, but Hall said he does not believe that growth has returned.