Brent holds above $113, Greece payment eases euro zone fears

* Euro zone govts agree to 5.2 bln euros payment toGreece

* U.S. crude stocks up 3.65 mln bbls last week - EIA

By Francis Kan

SINGAPORE, May 10 (Reuters) - Brent crude held steady above $113 on Thursday, as news that Greece will receive its latest debt bailout payment eased concerns that Europe's woes could affect oil demand.

But gains were kept in check by signs of rising U.S. crude inventories, although this was tempered by falling refined fuel stocks at the world's top oil consumer.

Brent crude edged up 3 cents to $113.23 a barrel by 0237 GMT, after settling at $113.20 on Wednesday, up 47 cents.

U.S. crude rose 5 cents to $96.86.

"Any Greek related news is going to have a bigger impact than usual, so the bailout payment is positive but there is still a lot of uncertainty," said Miguel Audencial, a trader with CMC Markets in Sydney.

"With demand for oil looking bleak and rising inventories, I don't expect crude oil prices to rebound any time soon."

Oil prices plunged this week on worries leadership changes in France and Greece could threaten austerity plans seen as key to tackling the euro zone debt crisis.

Fresh concerns over the health of Spanish banks have added to Europe's woes, but Greece appeared to have averted an imminent funding crisis after the board of the European Financial Stability Facility agreed on Wednesday to a scheduled 5.2 billion euro payment.

SUPPLY GROWS

Signs of rising supplies globally also weighed on oil prices. U.S. crude oil inventories rose 3.65 million barrels last week, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in its weekly report, more than analyst expectations.

But the inventory boost in the EIA data was much less than a rise of 7.8 million barrels reported by the American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday.

Gasoline stocks fell 2.61 million barrels and distillate stocks fell 3.25 million barrels, the EIA said.

Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said on Wednesday oil markets would remain well supplied even after fresh international sanctions against Iran take effect, as global crude oversupply is already as much as 1.5 million barrels per day.