* Oil falls more than $1 as U.S. dollar firms to 6-mth
highs
* Demand concerns rise after drop in China crude imports
* Support comes from Russia-Georgia conflict
(Updates prices)
SINGAPORE, Aug 12 (Reuters) - Oil fell more than $1 a
barrel on Tuesday as part of a broader commodities sell-off on
the firmer U.S. dollar, which countered concerns over possible
supply disruptions due to the Russia-Georgia clash.
Worries over slowing global demand also put prices under
pressure, after world No. 2 consumer China posted a surprise
drop in July crude imports.
U.S. crude <CLc1> fell 90 cents to $113.55 a barrel by 0632
GMT, hovering at its lowest since early May. The contract has
fallen more than $30, or around 23 percent, from the record
above $147 a barrel touched on July 11.
London Brent crude <LCOc1> slid $1.19 to $111.48.
"Oil prices have again sagged lower despite the potential
threat that the Russia-Georgia conflict poses to oil supplies.
The firm U.S. dollar is weighing on the oil price," David
Moore, an analyst at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, said
in a note.
The U.S. dollar rose to a six-month high against the euro
as concerns over the global economy have kept other major
currencies under pressure. []
Investors had bought oil and other commodities such as gold
in earlier months as a hedge against inflation and a weak U.S.
dollar, helping push oil prices to a record above $147 in July.
Crude oil had risen sevenfold at its peak last month, after
climbing for six years on growing demand from China and other
developing economies.
But worries over a slowdown in global demand were given
impetus after China reported an unexpected 7 percent fall in
July crude oil imports, the steepest monthly drop since January
2005.
"I think it's going to be a short-term issue. From the
market point of view, it will be more interesting to see what
happens after the Olympics," said Gerard Burg, a commodities
analyst at National Australia Bank in Melbourne.
With the U.S. dollar on the rise, traders have largely
shrugged off concerns that the conflict between Russia and
Georgia would disrupt key transportation links for Caspian Sea
oil producers, including Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan.
With Russian forces advancing deeper into Georgia, U.S.
President George W. Bush warned Russia on Monday that a
"dramatic and brutal escalation" of Moscow's push into the
smaller country would jeopardise relations with the West.
[]
Georgia's oil ports of Supsa and Batumi, which export Azeri
crude, have reduced shipments while the Georgian port of Poti
has been shut. Kazakhstan also stopped shipments of its crude
from Batumi. []
The cutbacks follow a fire in eastern Turkey last week on
the Baku-Tblisi-Ceyhan pipeline, which halted loadings of Azeri
light crude at the Turkish port of Ceyhan.
The blaze was put out on Monday but repairs may take one to
two weeks or longer, a source at the pipeline consortium said,
forcing BP Plc <BP.L> to cut output by at least 400,000 barrels
a day at the Azeri-Chirag Gunashli oil fields. []
Traders would also be looking out for the weekly U.S. oil
inventory data due on Wednesday.
A preliminary poll of analysts showed crude stocks would
likely fall by 100,000 barrels, while gasoline would show a 2.1
million barrel draw and distillates would build by 1.7 million
barrels. []
(Reporting by Chua Baizhen, Editing by Ben Tan)
