* Hurricane Ida threatens Gulf of Mexico oil output
* Dollar under pressure, equities rise
* Saudi Arabia lifts Dec oil supply to global oil firm
(Adds Saudi supplies, updates prices)
By Barbara Lewis
LONDON, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Oil rose more than $1 towards $79
a barrel on Monday after Hurricane Ida forced the shut in of
U.S. oil and gas facilities, and on the outcome of Group of 20
talks sent equities up and the dollar down.
U.S crude for December delivery <CLc1> rose $1.27 to $78.70
a barrel by 1117 GMT, just off a session high of $78.95. The
contract had fallen by 3 percent on Friday.
London Brent crude <LCOc1> gained $1.20 to $77.07.
Hurricane Ida was downgraded to Category 1 on Monday, but
only after U.S. oil companies had shut in production and
evacuated workers. []
"I think it's more buy on the rumour, sell on the fact. It
does not seem as if it's (Ida is) strong enough to create
structural damage," said Olivier Jakob of Petromatrix.
"Nothing fundamental has really changed, but you buy because
of the dollar and equities."
Oil prices have rallied from a low of below $33 a barrel hit
last December, in line with a rally sustained for much of the
year on equities, which have factored in economic recovery. A
pick up in the economy has implications for fuel demand.
At the same time the dollar <.DXY> has weakened, which can
act as a spur to dollar-dominated commodities, such as oil and
gold.
Gold <XAU=> touched a record high above $1,100 an ounce on
Monday [], while the The MSCI world equity index
<.MIWD00000PUS> increased by around one percent after the Group
of 20 pledged to keep stimulus packages in place until economic
recovery was assured. []
Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, has increased
December supplies to large oil companies by between 5 and 10
percent from November levels, but shipments are still far below
full contract volume. []
Industry sources said some other refiners were receiving
roughly steady supplies compared with last month.
Some in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting
Countries have raised the possibility of an increase in
production when the group meets in December, but only if oil
prices continued to rise and economic recovery were maintained.
United Arab Emirates Oil Minister Mohammed al-Hamli said at
the weekend raising oil production was not on the agenda for the
producer group. []
For oil prices, the market's failure to sustain the strength
that took it to a year-high of $82 a barrel in October was seen
as bearish and speculators have begun to unwind long positions.
The latest data from the Commodity Futures Trading
Commission on Friday showed money managers had reduced their net
long crude positions on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
[]. Speculative length is still historically high
and analysts said further selling was likely.
Fuel inventories are brimming and U.S. distillate stocks,
which include heating oil and diesel, are at their higest levels
for more than a quarter of a century.
(For a graphic on the path of Hurricane Ida click on:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/119/US_HKIDA1109.gif)
(Additional reporting by Joe Brock; Editing by Keiron
Henderson)
