* Global investors watch Fed April 26-27 policy meeting
* Saudi concerned over economic impact from high price
* Coming up: API oil inventory data, 4:30 p.m. EDT Tuesday
(Recasts, updates prices and market activity)
By Robert Gibbons
NEW YORK, April 26 (Reuters) - Brent crude edged up in
volatile trading while U.S. crude ended little changed on
Tuesday as investors eyed a U.S. Federal Reserve two-day policy
meeting for any signal of a change in monetary policy.
The U.S. dollar remained under pressure on expectations
that the Fed will keep monetary policy accommodative, helping
support dollar-denominated oil prices that have benefited by
attracting investment as a hedge against inflation.
Traders also weighed comments by the chief of Saudi
Arabia's state-run firm Aramco, who voiced concern about the
impact of high oil prices on the global economy that pressured
crude early Tuesday. []
The Saudi view contrasted with U.S. Treasury Secretary
Timothy Geithner's remarks that oil, "at current levels, on its
own, it won't put the recovery at risk." []
A power outage that affected operations at several refiners
in the Texas City region near Houston lifted U.S. gasoline
<RBc1> and heating oil <HOc1> futures and helped keep crude
futures supported. []
Brent crude for June <LCOc1> gained 48 cents to settle at
$124.14 a barrel, having bounced off a $122.78 low.
U.S. crude <CLc1> for June fell 7 cents settle at $112.21.
Tuesday's trading saw U.S. crude seesaw between a $111.12
low and a $112.64 peak. It reached $113.48 on Monday, its
highest intraday price since September 2008, before ending the
day down 1 penny.
Libya's civil war and violence-tinged unrest Syria and
Yemen helped limit bearish sentiment or a price slide, keeping
the potential for supply disruption in the region highlighted.
[] [] []
Tensions between Bahrain and Tehran escalated as Bahrain
ordered the expulsion of an Iranian diplomat for alleged links
to a spy ring in Kuwait. []
Oil's rallies have been fueled recently by geopolitical
supply worries and expectations the dollar will stay under
pressure, but price pull backs have resulted from increasing
concerns about the threat to oil demand from high prices.
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For a 24-hour technical outlook on oil:
http://r.reuters.com/nut29r
For a 24-hour technical outlook on Brent:
http://r.reuters.com/qut29r
For stories on Libya & Middle East crisis: []
For a TAKE-A-LOOK on Middle East, N Africa:[]
For top stories on the global economy: []
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Analysts and brokers said investors would be cautious
awaiting the result of the Fed's Federal Open Market Committee
meeting that started on Tuesday and will include a news
conference on Wednesday.
"This week, it will be all about the Fed meeting. Volume
and volatility will come back after the meeting," said Olivier
Jakob of Petromatrix in Switzerland.
Both U.S. crude and Brent trading volumes outpaced Monday's
depressed totals, but they remained on pace to continue to lag
30- and 250-day averages, according to Reuters data.
DOLLAR UNDER PRESSURE
The euro jumped to a 16-month high against the dollar, with
no respite in sight for the greenback as long as the Fed
continues to lag other major central banks in raising interest
rates. []
The dollar index <.DXY>, measuring the greenback against a
basket of currencies, weakened.
"Exchange rates and lack of confidence in the currency have
been supportive to oil. The market is going to be cautious and
wait to see if the Fed and (Chairman) Bernanke address rising
energy prices and inflation," said Phil Flynn, analyst at
PFGBest Research in Chicago.
U.S. OIL INVENTORIES
Oil investors also awaited weekly oil inventory reports
expected to show crude stocks rose last week. A Reuters poll on
Tuesday expected gasoline stocks to be lower, posting what
would be a 10th consecutive weekly decline. []
The forecast was for distillates to be up, only 100,000
barrels, with refinery capacity utilization also rising.
U.S. retail gasoline demand fell last week by 0.7 percent
from the previous week, but rebounded modestly versus the same
year-ago period, a MasterCard Advisors' SpendingPulse report
showed. []
Industry group the American Petroleum Institute (API) will
issue its weekly inventory data at 4:30 p.m. EDT (2030 GMT) on
Tuesday, with the government's report issued by the U.S. Energy
Information Administration following on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m.
EDT (1430 GMT).
(Additional reporting by Gene Ramos in New York, Ikuko
Kurahone in London and Manash Goswami and Florence Tan in
Singapore; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
