* Oil steadies after falling to lowest since Oct. 5
* Dollar falls against currency basket, stocks rise
* Demand concerns, technicals still pressure crude
(Updates prices at settlement, recasts)
By Joshua Schneyer
NEW YORK, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Oil fell for the ninth
consecutive day on Monday, easing further below $70 a barrel as
weak fuel demand overshadowed gains in equity markets and a
lower dollar.
Oil prices have fallen more than $8 a barrel since Dec. 1
in the longest price slide since July 2001, as rising inventory
levels in the United States showed a sluggish recovery in oil
demand from the recession.
Crude for January delivery <CLc1> fell 36 cents to settle
at $69.51 a barrel. Brent crude <LCOc1> traded up 1 cent to
settle at $71.89 a barrel.
"The fundamentals of oil demand are weak, and as the year
comes to an end, people have been paying more attention to
them," said Gene McGillian, analyst at Tradition Energy in
Connecticut. "After falling so much, the market is trying to
stem the slide but it hasn't really happened yet."
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Graphic of oil prices: http://link.reuters.com/pyk76g
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Stocks at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for NYMEX
WTI crude futures, have swelled by 7.8 million barrels in the
last six weeks to 33.4 million barrels <USOICC=ECI>, putting
pressure on WTI for near-term delivery on concern of an oil
glut in the U.S. Midwest.
The recent slide in U.S. crude prices may still trigger
further selling, as oil prices plummet through technical
support levels, analysts said. The move below the $70-a-barrel
level may lead to further losses, since there is little
technical support for prices above $65.
Oil's recent plunge has "turned the chart patterns
distinctly negative," said Edward Meir, analyst at MF Global.
"The question now becomes where we head from here, and from the
looks of things, we suspect there is more downside to go."
Before sliding, oil showed some strength earlier in the day
as the dollar weakened and equities traded higher. Losses in
the greenback have typically sent oil prices higher this year,
since oil is priced in dollars and becomes cheaper for holders
of foreign currency.
Traders will look to U.S. crude and product inventory data
due out on Tuesday and Wednesday, as well the U.S. Federal
Reserve's monetary policy decision, to be announced on
Wednesday, as potential drivers for oil prices later in the
week. Interest rates are expected to stay unchanged at near
zero.
Ministers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting
Countries say the group is likely to hold its output targets
steady at a Dec. 22 meeting. OPEC has been quietly putting more
oil on the market since April, as prices rallied.
Oil has risen from below $33 a barrel last December.
Keeping targets steady at the meeting, in Angola, would allow
OPEC to continue to make unofficial adjustments in supply
depending on the pace of economic recovery and prices next
year.
(Additional reporting by Edward McAllister and Matthew
Robinson in New York, Alex Lawler in London and Osamu Tsukimori
in Tokyo; Editing by Marguerita Choy and Lisa Shumaker)
