Oil tops $83; dollar drop lifts interest in commodities

                                
   * Dollar to remain predominant factor for prices -analyst
                                
 * Technicals show crude to rebound to $84.43
[ID:nSGE69904S]
                                
 * Coming Up: OPEC meeting Oct. 14; ministers signal no
change
                                
 By Alejandro Barbajosa
                                
 SINGAPORE, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Oil rose for a second
straight session on Monday to top $83 as the dollar extended
15-year lows versus the yen and weakened against the euro,
bolstering the appeal of commodities as an alternative
investment.
                                
 U.S. crude for November <CLc1> climbed 47 cents to $83.13 a
barrel by 0251 GMT, after rising as much as 0.9 percent earlier
to $83.42. Prices touched a five-month intra-day high of $84.43
last week. ICE Brent <LCOc1> gained 39 cents to $84.42.
                                
 Weak U.S. jobs data for September last week strengthened
the case for further monetary stimulus to boost the struggling
economy, as world financial leaders over the weekend sought to
defuse mounting tensions over currencies. [ID:nN09263971]
                                
 "The dominant thems is the dollar," said David Taylor, an
analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney.
                                
 "The U.S. economic data hasn't surprised to the upside for
some time, and if the data continues to disappoint, investors
will see that as a case for more stimulus."
                                
 Expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will inject more
money into the economy before the end of the year are adding
pressure on the battered dollar, which renders oil cheaper for
holders of other currencies.
                                
 Money managers' net long crude oil positions on the New
York Mercantile Exchange jumped to more than 165,000 in the
week to Oct. 5, the highest since April, the Commodity Futures
Trading Commission said on Friday, from about 107,000 a week
earlier.
                                
 Some analysts say the increase shows the near 9 percent
rally in crude prices over the same period was largely driven
by investment money. [ID:nN08251145]
                                
 "It's a bit of a risky market," Taylor said. "If there is
further money printing and it has a limited impact on the
economy, you are left with fewer policy levers to work with and
that will make markets very nervous."
                                
 OPEC SIGNALS NO CHANGE
                                
 OPEC is unlikely to change oil output targets when it meets
in Vienna on Thursday, delegates told Reuters on Sunday, while
Qatar said current oil prices posed no harm to the global
economy. [ID:nLDE6990FA]
                                
 The oil price has stayed within a range of $70 to $80 a
barrel for most of this year -- judged by the Organization of
the Petroleum Exporting Countries to be high enough for
producers who need to invest and low enough not to damage the
world's economy.
                                
 Saudi Arabia, OPEC's top crude exporter, will supply full
contracted volumes of crude oil in November to at least four
term buyers in northeast Asia, steady with October levels,
traders with the refiners said on Monday. [ID:nSGE69A020]
                                
 Total's <TOTF.PA> La Mede oil refinery in the south of
France was partially shut on Sunday as Marseille port workers
continued their strike for a fourteenth day, blocking the
delivery of crude oil. Total said the lack of crude oil had
also started to affect its 117,000 barrels per day Feyzin
refinery in the Lyon region. [ID:nLDE6990EC]
                                
 The port strike is expected to continue this week and on
Tuesday French unions have called for a general strike
throughout the country to protest against the pension reform.
                                
 Although refinery shutdowns curtail crude requirements,
reduced output of fuels may strain oil product markets in
Europe, curbing a surplus of gasoline that is usually shipped
to the U.S. and raising gas oil import needs. Both gasoline and
heating oil futures gained on the New York Mercantile Exchange
on Monday.
                                
 Enbridge Inc's <ENB.TO> 670,000 barrel per day (bpd)
pipeline 6A was back in operation on Sunday after a one-day
shutdown to prevent a leak in the main artery for Canadian
crude imports into the U.S. [ID:nN10275699]
                                
 The U.S. dollar slid to 15-year lows versus the yen Monday
as soft jobs data fuelled expectations of more quantitative
easing, while the IMF and G7 meetings produced nothing to avert
a cycle of competitive depreciation. The greenback was down
0.34 percent against a basket of currencies. [USD/] <.DXY>
                                
 A holiday in Tokyo robbed the market of some liquidity and
traders were wary in case the Bank of Japan stepped in. The
risk of intervention seemed to have grown after Japan weathered
the flurry of weekend meetings with hardly any criticism of its
recent bout of yen sales.
                                
 Emerging powers won a battle on Saturday for heightened IMF
scrutiny of rich countries' economic policies as world
financial leaders sought to defuse mounting tensions over
currencies. [ID:nN09263971]
 (Editing by Clarence Fernandez)