* U.S. crude, distillate inventories rise - EIA
* Fed's reassurance on easing boosts oil, risk assets
* No signs of progress in powers' talks with Iran - agency
* API says US crude stocks rose less than expected (Updates prices, comment detail after EIA data)
By Alex Lawler
LONDON, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Oil slipped towards $112 a barrel on Wednesday after stockpiles of crude rose in top consumer the United States, pressuring an already well supplied market.
Inventories of crude oil rose by 1.13 million barrels in the week to Feb. 22, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in a weekly report. Distillate stocks, including heating oil and diesel, rose 557,000 barrels.
Brent crude shed 12 cents to $112.59 a barrel by 1553 GMT. The contract traded as low as $112.41 on Tuesday, its weakest since Jan. 24. U.S. oil gained 9 cents to $92.72.
"The rise in crude oil inventories and the refinery utilization rate are bearish factors, as more refined product should be coming to market as maintenance season lessens," John Kilduff of Again Capital LLC in New York said.
Brent rallied to a nine-month high near $120 in early February but has since fallen back on signs the global economy remains fragile. Some see the potential for further losses.
"Brent could come down to $110 or $108. We got so overdone to the upside, the market will get similarly overdone to the downside," said Christopher Bellew, a broker at Jefferies Bache in London.
"The downside is going to be because of weak demand in Europe and OPEC not cutting back on their output to fit in with demand."
Prices drew some support from an American Petroleum Institute report on Tuesday that showed crude stockpiles had risen less than expected. Stocks rose 904,000 barrels in the week to Feb. 22, the API said, while analysts had expected a rise of 2.4 million barrels.
Losses were also limited by U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's defence of the central bank's bond-buying in testimony before Congress, which was seen as helping economic recovery and thereby oil demand and supporting oil and other riskier assets.
A perceived risk to oil supplies from tension between the West and Iran over Tehran's nuclear programme has long supported prices, helping to keep Brent over $100 for most of 2012 and this year.
The two sides have agreed to meet at expert level in Istanbul next month and to hold further high-level negotiations in Kazakhstan in April. (Reporting by Alex Lawler and Manash Goswami; Editing by Alison Birrane and Jane Baird)
