* Investors flock to perceived safety of dollar
* U.S. manufacturing sector up less than expected in Feb
* Traders focus on key U.S. jobs data this week
(Recasts, updates prices, market activity; new byline,
dateline, previously LONDON)
By Edward McAllister
NEW YORK, March 1 (Reuters) - Oil fell slightly in choppy
trade on Monday as a stronger dollar pressured prices,
outweighing gains on Wall Street.
The euro fell against the dollar on Monday as uncertainty
remained over a bailout package for debt-strapped Greece, while
Wall Street extended gains after a spurt of takeover news.
U.S. crude for April delivery <CLc1> fell 10 cents to
$79.56 a barrel by 12:51 p.m. EST (1751 GMT), after climbing as
much as 96 cents. On Friday, the contract settled up $1.49 at
$79.66 and posted its biggest monthly percentage gain since May
2009.
London Brent crude <LCOc1> rose 2 cents to $77.61.
"Rising equities are being offset by a stronger dollar and
the market lacks some direction right now," said Gene
McGillian, analyst at Tradition Energy in Stamford,
Connecticut.
"It looked as if we might have weathered some of the sell
off last week with a little more positive economic sentiment,
but today's manufacturing number helped deflate that a bit."
The U.S. manufacturing sector grew in February but at a
slower rate than was expected, according to an industry report
released on Monday.
The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said its index of
national factory activity declined to 56.5 in February from
58.4 in January. The median forecast of 80 economists surveyed
by Reuters was for a reading of 57.5.
Investors have looked to wider economic data over the past
year for signs of economic recovery and a potential rebound in
energy demand.
The rise in the dollar against the euro helped pressure
crude. Oil prices have often fallen this year when the dollar
firms, making crude more costly for holders of other
currencies. A stronger dollar can also signal investors plowing
funds into safe havens and away from assets considered more
risky, including commodities.
COPPER COMMODITY
Oil rallied earlier on a combination of bullish sentiment
and a rise in the price of copper futures following a massive
earthquake on Saturday in Chile, the top producer of the
industrially indispensable metal. []
Chile's state energy company ENAP said it was boosting
diesel imports after two of its oil refineries -- Aconcagua and
Bio Bio with a combined capacity of 220,000 barrels per day --
were damaged in Saturday's quake.
On Sunday a senior military official from Iran, the world's
fourth-largest exporter of crude, said the country could make
European nations suffer by cutting off energy supplies and
could target any adversary with its missiles. []
Iran is disputing its nuclear energy programme with the
United States and its allies, who say it is aimed at developing
weapons. Tehran says it is only interested in power generation
and medical research.
Oil traders will look to economic reports this week, with
key focus on U.S. jobless data on Friday, that should give more
clues on consumer spending, and U.S. home loans on Wednesday.
Positive economic data on Friday from the United States,
which saw the world's largest economy grow faster in the fourth
quarter than initially thought, also helped increase investors'
appetite for more risky assets, lending further support to
oil.
(Additional reporting by Robert Gibbons and Gene Ramos in New
York; Chris Baldwin in London; Fayen Wong in Perth; Editing by
David Gregorio)
