* U.S. crude hovers below 26-month high
* US home prices, consumer confidence short of estimates
* OPEC has no plans to change policy for now
(Recasts, updates prices, market activity including reaction
to U.S. economic data)
NEW YORK, Dec 28 (Reuters) - Oil rose slightly on Tuesday,
topping $91 a barrel and hovering just below a 26-month high
struck the previous session, as a weaker dollar outweighed poor
U.S. consumer confidence data.
U.S. crude found early support as the dollar slipped
against a basket of currencies, before giving back some gains
following the release of economic data from the world's top
consumer.
U.S. consumer confidence unexpectedly deteriorated in
December, hurt by increasing worries about the jobs market,
according to a private report released by the Conference Board.
The data weighed on equities markets. []
U.S. single-family home prices fell for a fourth straight
month in October, pressured by a supply glut, home foreclosures
and high unemployment, according to the Standard &
Poor's/Case-Shiller composite index. []
U.S. crude for February rose 23 cents to $91.23 a barrel by
11:16 a.m. (1616 GMT), the day after touching a peak of $91.88,
the highest since October 2008.
ICE Brent crude traded 18 cents higher to $94.03 a barrel.
Copper and gold also found support from the weaker dollar,
which tends to bolster commodities denominated in the
greenback. [] The Chinese yuan rose after China
announced a rate rise at the weekend as the world's
second-largest oil burner strives to slow down its economy.
"I think (oil is) being pulled in different directions,
with a definite upward bias," said Phil Flynn, analyst with
PFGBest Research in Chicago.
"On one hand it's commodity side wants to rally, but it's
financial instrument side is being restrained because the stock
market is lower (due to U.S. consumer confidence data)."
Oil has rallied by 35 percent from lows struck in May, and
is up roughly 15 percent from the end of 2009.
A rally across financial markets took hold in earnest
around September, spurred by the U.S. Federal Reserve's latest
round of quantitative easing, a weakened dollar and rising
demand.
"Data in recent weeks have been supportive of the stocks
and commodity markets globally. The U.S. will avoid a
double-dip. The Asian region including Japan looks a little bit
better, with its industrial production finally showing an
increase," said David Cohen, director of Asian Economic
Forecasting at Action Economics.
"I think a lot of people are expecting prices to turn
higher towards $100 a barrel next year."
The Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries,
some of whose members also belong to OPEC, met in Cairo at the
weekend, when leading exporter Saudi Arabia reiterated its
preference for a $70-$80 price range. Others said $100 would be
fair and the global economy could withstand it.
Oil has also found some support from cold weather across
the United States and Europe. A blizzard across the U.S. East
Coast earlier this week was viewed as mixed for markets as it
bolstered heating demand but hit travel consumption by shuttnig
airports and slowing road travel.
The latest indications of fundamentals of supply and demand
for the United States, the world's biggest oil burner, will not
be released until Wednesday and Thursday. Figures published
last week showed a big drop in crude inventories, although they
were still higher than a year ago.
(Reporting by Jeffrey Kerr and Matthew Robinson in New York,
Barbara Lewis in London; Seng Li Peng in Singapore; Editing by
David Gregorio)
