* US Q3 GDP up but tepid growth seen weighing on oil
* Disappointing U.S., German, Indian data pressures oil
* Coming up: Fed Reserve policy 2-day meeting Nov 2-3
(Recasts, updates prices, market activity to settlement)
By Robert Gibbons
NEW YORK, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Friday
after data showing tepid U.S. economic growth in the third
quarter left investors cautious ahead of expected monetary
easing from the U.S. Federal Reserve.
U.S. crude futures did post a gain for the month and the
first monthly close above $80 a barrel since April.
Disappointing data from Germany and India, end-of-month
positioning and profit taking and the expiration on Friday of
U.S. November refined oil products contracts also combined to
provide volatility and pressure oil, industry sources said.
U.S. crude for December <CLc1> delivery fell 75 cents, or
0.91 percent, to settle at $81.43 per barrel, well above the
$80.56 intraday low. Crude prices slipped 26 cents on the week,
but were up $1.46 from $79.97 at the end of September.
Total crude trading volume was just over 450,000 lots with
about an hour left of post-settlement trading, well below the
30- and 250-day moving averages that were both more than
650,000 lots.
In London, ICE Brent December crude <LCOc1> fell 44 cents,
or 0.53 percent, to settle at $83.15 a barrel.
The U.S. economy grew at a 2.0 percent annual rate, up from
1.7 percent in the second quarter, the government reported, in
line with expectations but not enough to reduce high
unemployment. []
"The sentiment was that 2 percent growth was not robust
enough to get people excited and there was the disappointing
consumer sentiment report," said Gene McGillian, analyst at
Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut.
"But there was no follow through selling below $81 and the
market is still stuck in an $80-$84 range ahead of next week's
events."
Investors remained cautious ahead of U.S. mid-term
elections next Tuesday and prospects that the Fed will announce
another round of asset buying next Wednesday.
U.S. consumer sentiment in October hit its weakest level
since November, according to the Thomson Reuters/University of
Michigan's final October reading. []
A strong dollar pressured crude early, but the dollar index
<.DXY> seesawed and the greenback fell sharply against the yen
on the expectations of more monetary easing by the U.S. central
bank. But the dollar held on to a gain versus the euro.
U.S. stocks ended mixed and little changed as investors
assessed prospects for monetary stimulus by the Fed and
elections that could alter the balance of power in Washington.
[]
SLUGGISH ECONOMIES
Disappointing data out of Germany, Europe's largest
economy, also weighed on oil. Germany's retail sales in
September posted their biggest monthly drop in 2-1/2 years.
[]
"People are very worried about a slowdown in economic
growth," said Tetsu Emori, a fund manager at Tokyo-based Astmax
Co Ltd. "Industrial production in some countries is quite
weak."
India's domestic oil product sales fell an annual 1.9
percent in September, its second straight monthly decline,
government data showed on Friday. []
India's crude imports declined an annual 21.9 percent to
10.94 million tonnes or about 2.67 million barrels per day in
September when Indian refiners processed 10.2 percent less oil
versus a year ago. []
The French strike over pension reforms eased further on
Friday. Workers at the Fos-Lavera oil terminal near Marseille
voted to end a month-long strike, and oil tankers were to
start unloading later on Friday. []
Late on Friday, a report from the Commodity Futures Trading
Commission showed that money managers raised net long crude oil
positions on the New York Mercantile Exchange in the week
through last Tuesday. []
The increase came as U.S. crude futures rose to $82.55 a
barrel on Oct. 26 from $80.16 on Oct. 19.
(Additional reporting by Gene Ramos in New York, Emma Farge
and Isabel Coles in London and Alejandro Barbajosa in
Singapore)
