* After paring losses, January US crude ends down 1 cent
* Market eyes colder weather forecasts in eastern U.S.
* Front-month Jan/Feb spread jumps, Cushing drain eyed
* Brent, long-dated months fall on weak euro, factory data
(Recasts, updates prices, market activity)
By Joshua Schneyer
NEW YORK, Dec 17 (Reuters) - World oil prices fell broadly
on Thursday as the dollar strengthened and U.S. unemployment
claims rose, but January U.S. crude futures held firm as cold
weather gripped the U.S. northeast and a Canadian crude unit
cut production after a fire.
While the dollar's rise to a more than three-month high
versus the euro dragged down most oil prices, January U.S.
crude <CLc1> recouped early losses to end nearly unchanged.
U.S. crude prices were supported by an outage at a Suncor
Energy <SU.TO> Canadian oil-sands upgrading facility, which may
help ease high crude inventories in the North American
midcontinent. []
"This (outage) should help the crude market in the Cushing
area (where U.S. oil futures are delivered)," said Carl Holland
of Energy Trading Solutions LLC in Connecticut.
U.S. crude for January delivery <CLc1>, which expires on
Monday, settled down 1 cent at $72.65 a barrel, after falling
to near $71. U.S. oil futures for delivery in later months fell
more sharply.
ICE Brent futures <LCOc1> for February delivery shed 92
cents a barrel to settle at $73.37.
U.S. crude for near-term delivery was also supported by
prospects for a cold spell that would increase heating fuel
demand in the U.S. Northeast.
A 10-day National Weather Service forecast this week called
for unseasonably cold weather in most of the eastern United
States, the world's biggest regional consumer of heating oil.
Colder weather helped offset oil traders' concern that
rising jobless claims could undermine a U.S. economic rebound.
The number of U.S. workers filing new applications for jobless
insurance unexpectedly rose last week. []
U.S. stock markets [] fell as investors sought safer
havens, and the dollar [] hit a 3-1/2-month high against
the euro. Falling equities and a stronger dollar have usually
weakened oil prices this year.
"The dollar strength is going to be a significant enough
headwind these days to pressure prices," said John Kilduff,
partner at Round Earth Capital in New York.
FUNDAMENTALS TO THE FORE
While economic data and the direction of the U.S. dollar
have often dictated oil's direction this year, fundamentals are
reasserting themselves, after government data showed that last
week's decline in U.S. crude oil stocks was double
expectations. []
"Some of the selling pressure has eased," said Gene
McGillian, analyst at Tradition Energy in Stamford,
Connecticut.
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Relationship between U.S. crude stocks and the oil price:
http://link.reuters.com/dyd37g
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Distillate stocks, which include diesel and heating oil,
fell by 2.9 million barrels last week, far exceeding forecasts
for a 600,000-barrel drop. [] Analysts said they may fall
further due to a U.S. cold spell.
On the supply front, the Organization of the Petroleum
Exporting Countries (OPEC), which pumps about a third of the
world's oil, is widely expected to keep output unchanged when
it meets in Angola to discuss production policy on Dec. 22. For
a Reuters poll click []
Suncor Energy Inc <SU.TO> said Thursday it would cut output
at one of its oil sands upgraders, in Canada's Alberta
Province, by up to 150,000 barrels a day, or half of its
capacity, for two to four weeks after a fire at the plant on
Tuesday.
The outage had a limited effect on world oil prices, but
helped to strengthen near-term U.S. crude prices, since it
could mean some of the crude that is now accumulating at a
quick pace in the U.S. Midwest will be drawn down, traders
said.
(Additional reporting by Matthew Robinson in New York and
Jennifer Tan in Singapore; Editing by David Gregorio)
