* Weak dollar, strong euro, euro zone data lift oil
* U.S. equities reverse, tempering oil's rise
* Coming up: US Q2 GDP advanced, Fri, 8:30 a.m. EDT
(Recasts, updates prices, market activity, changes byline and
moves dateline from previous LONDON)
By Robert Gibbons
NEW YORK, July 29 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil prices rose on
Thursday in volatile trading as the weak dollar and positive
euro zone and German economic data provided lift before a Wall
Street reversal helped limit oil's rise.
Crude futures, attempting to break a two-day string of
lower settlements, ran into resistance near $79 a barrel after
rallying $1.90 to $78.89 a barrel.
Oil futures retreated from session highs, pressured as U.S.
equities turned negative. [].
U.S. crude for September <CLc1> delivery rose 77 cents to
$77.76 a barrel at 12:51 p.m. EDT (1651 GMT), trading from an
early low of $76.45 to a peak of $78.89.
ICE Brent rose $1.03 to $77.09 a barrel, having traded from
$75.60 to $78.16.
"The dollar's weakness pushed crude higher and triggered
some (buy) stops, but it ran into resistance and stalled just
below $79 and the stock market fell back and that helped pull
oil back also," said Chris Dillman, analyst at Tradition Energy
in Stamford, Connecticut.
The euro <EUR=> hit a 12-week high against a broadly weaker
dollar, lifted by data showing euro zone economic sentiment
jumping to a 28-month high, while German unemployment declined
for the 13th consecutive month. []
[]
Also supportive was news that U.S. initial jobless claims
fell in the week to July 24. []
Oil product stocks held in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp
storage hub fell across the board in the week ending Thursday
[], adding lift.
Consultancy Oil Movements said seaborne oil exports by
OPEC, excluding Angola and Ecuador, will fall by 370,000
barrels per day in the four weeks to Aug. 14, adding another
bullish element. []
The bullish news helped offset Wednesday's U.S. Energy
Information Administration inventory report that said
commercial crude oil stocks rose 7.31 million barrels last week
as imports jumped. []
FOCUS ON 200-DAY MOVING AVERAGE
Despite Thursday's rise, oil has been trading within a
$70-$80 range for nearly two months.
The front-month U.S crude contract rose above its 200-day
moving average, pegged at $77.77, before stalling short of $79
a barrel.
On Tuesday, before ending nearly 2 percent lower, crude
prices rose to $79.69, eclipsing last Friday's peak of $79.60
to post the highest front-month crude price since $80.39 was
struck on May 6. (Graphic: http://link.reuters.com/xat99m )
Continued signs of tepid economic recovery and oil demand
growth, along with the hefty inventories, have helped keep oil
prices in check.
U.S. oil demand in May was revised down by 4.21 percent to
18.827 million bpd from an earlier estimate of 19.655 million
bpd, the U.S. EIA said on Thursday. []
Lower durable goods orders in the United States weighed on
crude oil prices on Wednesday [], along with the
Federal Reserve's Beige Book summary of national economic
conditions, based on information before July 19, pointing to a
less-than-booming recovery. []
Helping to add to the inventory rises, OPEC is meeting only
half its promised cuts in oil supply this month, a Reuters
survey showed on Thursday - the lowest rate of observance since
the current targets were adopted in December 2008.
[]
(Additional reporting by David Turner in London and Alejandro
Barbajosa in Singapore; Editing by David Gregorio)
