* European equities steady, U.S. dollar recovers
* Oil to average $77.48 in Q4 2010-Reuters Poll
* Coming Up: U.S. Midwest manufacturing 1600 GMT
(Adds Reuters oil price poll, updates prices)
By Joe Brock
LONDON, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Oil hovered below $77 a barrel
on Monday, tracking unsettled European stock markets, as the
outlook for global economic recovery and future energy demand
remained uncertain.
European shares traded sideways on Monday after Asian stocks
rose to their highest in more than two years. This followed a
rally on Wall Street on Friday fuelled by encouraging economic
data.
U.S. crude for November delivery <CLc1> rose 10 cents to
$76.59 a barrel at 1050 GMT after earlier touching $76.89, the
highest price since Sept. 14. On Friday it jumped 1.7 percent,
capping the strongest weekly gain since July. ICE Brent for
November <LCOc1> was down 12 cents at $78.75.
Oil prices have traded largely in a $70-$80 a barrel range
since the beginning of May, driven by mixed economic indicators
and swings on global stock markets. []
"Oil's looking at Europe and U.S. equities at the moment as
it has been for months. It's hard to get away from that," said
James Hughes, market analyst at CMC markets in London.
A Reuters poll of 28 analysts highlighted oil's tight range
as consensus forecasts for the fourth quarter of this year and
2011 were revised slightly lower due to weak demand from
developed nations. []
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Reuters Insider interview with Credit Agricole CIB analyst
Christophe Barret: http://link.reuters.com/tyq35p
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
ECONOMIC DATA
U.S. manufacturing data is one of only a few economic
indicators to watch on Monday, while consumer confidence data
and UK GDP numbers on Tuesday should provide greater direction.
"European stock markets are doing very little but later this
week we'll be looking at GDP revisions for direction," Hughes
said.
Oil and U.S. stock markets rallied on Friday after data
showed new orders for a wide range of long-lasting U.S.
manufactured goods rose in August and business spending plans
rebounded strongly, separate reports showed on Friday.
The U.S. durable goods report eased some concerns of a
double-dip recession and implied a modest pick-up in output.
[]
Money managers cut net-long crude oil positions on the New
York Mercantile Exchange to less than 97,000 in the week through
Sept. 21 from almost 114,000 a week earlier, the Commodity
Futures Trading Commission said on Friday. []
That means the number of people betting for higher prices
decreased over the period, and the turnaround in prices at the
end of last week on the back of positive economic data created
incentives to revert those positions.
Venezuela is comfortable with oil prices and will call for
current production levels to be maintained at an Organisation of
the Petroleum Exporting Countries meeting in Vienna on Oct. 14,
its oil minister Rafael Ramirez said on Sunday, a view also
echoed by Kuwait. [] []
OPEC has left its output ceiling unchanged for almost two
years since announcing a record supply curb of 4.2 million
barrels per day in December 2008 to combat lower demand and
prices. OPEC complied with 53 percent of that reduction in
August, according to a Reuters survey. []
(Additional reporting by Alejandro Barbajosa in Singapore;
editing by James Jukwey)
