* Commodity markets focus still on dollar after G20 accord
* Dollar slumps, then pares loss, oil seesaws with dollar
* Coming Up: U.S. API oil data on Tuesday, 4:30 p.m. EDT
(Recasts, updates prices, market activity, changes byline and
moves dateline from LONDON)
By Robert Gibbons
NEW YORK, Oct 25 (Reuters) - U.S. oil prices edged up in
choppy trading on Monday, having retreated from an early spike
above $83 a barrel, as the dollar pared losses after being
knocked lower by disappointing results from a Group of 20
meeting.
Early Monday, oil found support as the dollar slumped to a
15-year low against the yen and traded above $1.40 versus the
euro, as the G20 agreement to shun competitive currency
devaluations was taken by investors as a signal to resume
selling the dollar. []
The dollar then cut losses against the euro after
better-than-expected U.S. September existing home sales data,
with the dollar index <.DXY> bouncing off its low.
[]
U.S. crude for December <CLc1> delivery rose 8 cents, or
0.1 percent, to $81.77 per barrel by 1:16 p.m. EDT (1716 GMT),
well off the $83.28 intraday high.
In London, ICE Brent December crude <LCOc1> fell 11 cents,
or 0.13 percent, to $82.85 a barrel.
Oil's recent volatility has investors cautious about adding
fresh long positions, sources said, and Wall Street also pared
its gains, helping curb oil's earlier push above $83 a barrel.
"There was very low participation from new length once New
York trading opened. Crude was basically bid up on the back of
G20 and dollar reaction," said Michael Guido, head of hedge
fund sales in commodities for Macquarie Bank in New York.
"However, we still remain in this horrible choppy range,
leaving confidence low when establishing or adding to a vested
long book."
U.S. stocks were lifted as the weak dollar and expectations
of economic stimulus from the U.S. Federal Reserve prompted
investors to pick up riskier assets. []
The U.S. Federal Reserve's policy meeting in early November
is expected to have the central bank take up the question of
another round of monetary easing, or quantitative easing.
"Since there was no major agreement at the G20 meeting
about trade imbalances at its weekend meeting, we are back to
the status quo, and that is, we expect quantitative easing from
the Fed," said Phil Flynn, analyst at PFGBest Research in
Chicago.
Oil has received support from strikes in France over
pension and port reforms, which have reduced fuel supplies,
shut refineries and disrupted shipping.
Workers at seven out of France's 12 refineries voted to
continue striking on Monday. [] But at Exxon
Mobil's <XOM.N> Port-Jerome and Fos-sur-Mer refineries workers
voted to end their strike. []
Workers at the Petroplus <PPHN.VX> Reichstett refinery
voted to lift a blockade at the plant and awaited crude oil
supplies for the refinery to restart production. []
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Map of fuel shortages in France:
http://link.reuters.com/hut69p
Map showing refineries supplied from Fos-Lavera:
http://r.reuters.com/zar46p
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
Oil traders continued to watch the potential for weather
disruption to Gulf of Mexico output. But Hurricane Richard was
downgraded to a tropical storm and then into a tropical
depression over Mexico as it headed into the Gulf of Mexico.
Mexico's state run oil company Pemex said the system would
not affect the country's offshore production. []
(Additional reporting by Gene Ramos in New York, Alex Lawler
in London and Alejandro Barbajosa in Singapore; Editing by
Walter Bagley)
