* Rally fed by talk of econ stimulus loses steam -analyst
* Technicals show oil to extend loss to $79 []
* Coming Up: U.S. industrial output for Sept; 1315 GMT
(Adds details of French strikes, updates prices)
By Alejandro Barbajosa
SINGAPORE, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Oil fell towards one-week
lows on Monday as a rebound in the dollar prompted investors to
halt their charge into commodities, while waiting for details
about possible U.S. economic stimulus measures.
U.S. crude for November <CLc1> fell 70 cents to $80.55 by
0603 GMT, extending last week's drop of 1.7 percent. It touched
$80.30 on Oct. 8, the lowest price since the beginning of the
month, after reaching a five-month high of $84.43 a day
earlier. December ICE Brent <LCOc1> fell 56 cents to $81.89.
U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Friday
offered his most explicit signal yet that the U.S. central bank
was set to ease monetary policy further in a debt purchase
program described as a second round of quantitative easing, or
QE2, but gave no details on when, or how aggressively, it might
act.
"QE2, which had been progressively bullish for oil over the
course of September and into early October, ran out of steam as
a driver for prices, at least for the time being," said Mike
Wittner, Societe Generale's head of oil market research.
The Fed next reviews policy on Nov. 2-3, when details about
any stimulus moves and their implementation could be revealed.
U.S. inflation unexpectedly slowed in September, despite a
pickup in retail sales, the government said on Friday. A survey
showed the country's consumer sentiment unexpectedly dipped in
early October to its weakest level since July. []
Over the weekend, two top Federal Reserve officials argued
for further aggressive action by the central bank, with one
saying the economy needed "much more" help and the other
pointing to Japan's painful lessons. []
DOLLAR DRIVES MARKET
The dollar strengthened by almost 0.5 percent against a
basket of currencies on Monday, extending Friday's gains from
10-month lows. Technical indicators pointed to the possibility
of a further short-covering rebound. []
Asian stocks were mixed on Monday, as optimism over further
policy support for the world's largest economy was offset by
concerns over bank exposure to the U.S. mortgage market.
[]
World stocks slid on Friday as concerns about a growing
U.S. foreclosure crisis undermined an early boost from
Bernanke's speech indicating more monetary stimulus was on the
way. []
In France, President Nicolas Sarkozy faces a make-or-break
week for his unpopular pension reform as rail and refinery
workers, truck drivers and street marchers ramp up pressure to
scrap it before a crucial Senate vote.
A three-week old strike at the French oil hub of Fos-Lavera
is blocking 61 ships from unloading cargo, the port authority
said on Sunday. []
Key oil producer Saudi Arabia is holding a conference in
Riyadh on Monday to mark the 50th anniversary of the
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which
the kingdom's oil minister Ali al-Naimi is scheduled to attend.
"Now we are entering growth because we went through a very,
very bad recession. OPEC does not want to hinder that growth.
We think $75-$85 will not hinder the growth of the economy,"
OPEC secretary general Abdullah al-Badri said on Friday, a day
after the producer group met in Vienna and agreed to hold
output steady.
"What really concerns us is the value of the dollar,
because member-countries' income is being affected by this low
level of the dollar," the secretary general said.
For a link to a Reuters insider interview with al-Badri:
http://link.reuters.com/zek58p
(Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
