* Dollar under pressure as Obama tours China
* Japan GDP jumps, but likely to slow next year
* OPEC president says too early to talk about output
changes
* Swelling U.S. oil stocks highlight demand weakness
(Recasts, updates prices, analyst's comments, OPEC president's
comments)
By Fayen Wong
PERTH, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Oil prices clawed back some of
last week's 1.4 percent losses on Monday and rose a dollar to
above $77 a barrel, as a weaker U.S. dollar and improved
sentiments over the economic outlook encouraged traders to push
up crude prices.
Positive data from Japan, the world's third-largest energy
consumer, whose economy expanded 1.2 percent in the third
quarter from the previous three months, also lent support to
oil prices.
U.S crude futures for December delivery <CLc1> were up 88
cents at $77.23 a barrel by 0545 GMT, after having risen as
much as 1.36 percent earlier.
London Brent crude <LCOc1> gained 84 cents to $77.15.
"Oil has rallied because of the weak dollar and the
positive GDP data out of Japan. Those factors are giving a lot
of opportunities for Asian traders to push prices higher," said
Benson Wang, a trader at Commodity Broking Services in Sydney.
"But movements in the dollar seems exaggerated because
realistically, it will be very difficult for the Chinese
government to let its yuan appreciate in the short term because
that will risk killing its export industries."
The U.S. dollar drifted lower in Asia on Monday, falling
0.4 percent against a basket of currencies <.DXY>, as it heads
into a week that is likely to see increased rhetoric on
currencies during U.S. President Barack Obama's visit to China.
[]
Underlining views that a global economic imbalance is being
reflected in the weakening dollar, the head of the
International Monetary Fund said a stronger Chinese yuan was
part of the reforms that Beijing needed to implement to
increase domestic consumption. []
The weaker dollar helped push gold prices to a fresh record
high on Monday, while U.S. wheat, corn and soybean futures also
advanced more than 1 percent. A weaker dollar typically
supports commodities because the dollar-priced contracts become
cheaper for buyers using other currencies.
There was little impact from comments by OPEC's president,
Jose Botelho de Vasconcelos, who said the market was still
oversupplied, adding that he was satisfied with current oil
prices and compliance, which he put at about 65 percent.
[]
Hopes of a revival in energy demand from Japan supported
prices.
Japan's economy grew at the fastest pace in more than two
years in the third quarter, as stimulus lifted consumer
spending and capital spending bottomed out. []
But with growth in the world's No. 2 economy largely
fuelled by the continued effects of stimulus spending by
governments around the world, some analysts warned the recovery
may lose momentum in coming quarters due to weak domestic
demand.
With the vast majority of corporate results already
reported, market watchers are casting around for the next
catalyst to set direction for the dollar, stocks and
commodities. That will put this week's round of economic data
in the spotlight, including U.S. retail sales, the Consumer
Price Index and housing starts.
After having fallen about 54 percent in 2008, oil prices
have rebounded nearly 73 percent so far this year, helped by a
weaker dollar and rallying equities markets amid signs of
stronger global growth.
Analysts said upside gains to oil prices could be limited,
however, with U.S. data pointing to a choppy recovery, while
bulging fuel inventories also reflected sluggish energy demand.
[]
(Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
