* OPEC to keep oil production targets unchanged - delegate
* Dollar <.DXY> hits 10-month low against currency basket
* Technicals show oil to top five-month high []
* Coming Up: U.S. EIA weekly oil stock data at 1500 GMT
(Adds detail, graphic, updates prices)
By Christopher Johnson
LONDON, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Oil rose towards five-month highs
above $84 per barrel on Thursday in a broad-based rally of
commodities fuelled by a slump in the dollar and news of a
surprise drop in U.S. stockpiles.
Ministers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting
Countries decided in Vienna to keep oil production unchanged,
sources said, with one delegate saying the 12 producer countries
were "100 percent" agreed. The meeting was continuing and a
formal decision had yet to be announced. []
For a full list of Reuters stories on the OPEC meeting,
click: []
OPEC is happy with oil prices as they are and wants to do
nothing to disrupt the supply-demand balance in the market.
U.S. crude for November <CLc1> climbed $1.11 to a high of
$84.12 a barrel, before slipping back to trade around $83.45 by
1050 GMT. Last week, it hit a peak of $84.43, the highest since
May 4, while ICE Brent added 80 cents to $85.44.
The dollar fell to its lowest in 10 months against a basket
of currencies <USD=> <.DXY>, giving up more than 0.7 percent on
the day, making oil imports cheaper for emerging economies,
while the euro rose to an eight-month high. []
"Today's move higher is all about the dollar," said Carsten
Fritsch, commodities analyst at Commerzbank in Frankfurt.
"Investors believe that a weak dollar is good for commodities,
so they buy. It is a self-fulfilling prophesy."
Christopher Bellew, oil broker at Bache Commodities, said
Chinese demand for oil and the coming northern winter were
supportive but the general rise in commodities was paramount.
"I think that right now the oil price is so strong because
of the weak dollar and strong prices across all commodities as
an asset class," Bellew said.
QUANTITATIVE EASING
Expectations of a fresh round of expansionary monetary
policy, or quantitative easing, by the U.S. Federal Reserve and
other central banks is helping fuel a rise in commodities.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
For a graphic of various asset returns since Federal Reserve
Chairman Ben Bernanke said in August that the Federal Reserve
was ready to take more steps to boost the U.S. economy, click:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/F/10/GLB_MKTQEP.html
For a graphic of oil versus gold and copper, click:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/AS/0810/ABE_20101410150319.jpg ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
Improving fundamentals in the oil market, including falling
inventories in the United States, rebounding OECD demand and
soaring imports in China, are also encouraging buying of crude
oil ahead of the northern hemisphere winter heating season.
U.S. crude inventories fell unexpectedly last week, partly
because of the closure of the Houston Ship Channel, shedding 4
million barrels compared to an expected increase of 1.1 million,
the American Petroleum Institute (API) said on Wednesday.
[]
Gasoline and distillate stocks, including heating oil and
diesel, also fell by 1.9 million barrels and 254,000 barrels,
respectively, versus forecasts from a Reuters survey for drops
of 1 million and 1.1 million barrels. []
Government data on U.S. stocks and demand from the Energy
Information Administration is due at 1500 GMT. []
(Additional reporting by Alejandro Barbajosa; editing by
Anthony Barker)
