* Oil rises over $1 to near $69 as Asian stocks rise
* OPEC president urges members to cut, says Saudi key
* Iran latest to cut export volumes after OPEC agreement
(Updates prices)
By Fayen Wong
PERTH, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Oil rose over $1 to near $69 a
barrel on Monday, reversing earlier losses of more than $1, as
Asian stock markets climbed on signs of improvement in credit
markets and the dollar steadied, stiffening investor
confidence.
The euro was barely changed at $1.2749 against the U.S
dollar <EUR=> by early Asian trade, having lost about 9.6
percent in October, the single currency's worst monthly
performance since its launch in 1999.
Analysts said traders would now be looking for signs that
OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia was cutting back its crude
production, in line with the cartel's agreement last month to
reduce output by 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd).
U.S. crude <CLc1> rose $1.12 to $68.93 a barrel by 0423
GMT, after falling as much as $1.13. London Brent crude <LCOc1>
was up $1.07 at $66.39.
"We're now seeing a more positive tide in stock markets,
which is a good indication for crude oil markets and that's
helping to stop the downward momentum in oil prices," said Toby
Hassall, chief analyst at Commodities Warrants Australia.
"But the dominating theme continues to be a weak demand
outlook, and despite the short-term price gains, we're not
likely to see any real improvement to outlook in the near
term."
Asian stocks rose on Monday, after Wall Street ended a
turbulent October on a solid note.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index <> was up 5.4 percent,
Singapore's Straits Times <.FTSTI> rose more than 4.0 percent,
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index <> gained 3.0 percent, while
South Korea's shares rose 2.2 percent. Japanese markets were
closed for a holiday.
The dollar steadied after recording its biggest monthly
gain in more than 17 years in October, with investors bracing
for another round of interest rate cuts this week by the
world's major central banks.
The European Central Bank, the Bank of England and the
Reserve Bank of Australia are all set to lower rates to support
their struggling economies against the threat of recession.
U.S. oil fell more than 32 percent in October, the steepest
monthly decline ever as global demand slows.
In three months, oil has wiped out gains that took more
than a year to build, down more than half since they struck a
record of $147.27 a barrel in July, as a raft of poor economic
data added pressure from weak demand reports in the U.S. and
other key consumer nations.
OPEC members have no choice but to implement agreed output
cuts and inform customers of the reductions if they want a
stable oil price between $70 and $90 a barrel, OPEC President
Chakib Khelil said on Sunday.
Khelil said Saudi Arabia was the key to the success of the
reductions, and if the world's biggest oil exporter took its
time over the operation the oil price could be affected.
[]
Other OPEC members have begun to notify customers that they
would reduce their crude oil sales in line with an OPEC
decision to cut output.
Iran's oil minister said on Saturday it had informed
customer France's Total <TOTF.PA> of an oil sales cut
[], while Kuwait has notified term customers in
Asia it would reduce their crude oil supplies by 5 percent from
November. []
Earlier last week, Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates
told customers they would receive less oil, but top exporter
Saudi Arabia has yet to inform customers of any fresh curbs.
Oil's sharp downturn has spurred some OPEC members to call
for additional supply reductions to arrest a continued slide in
oil prices.
Iran's Oil Minister Gholamhossein Nozari said on Saturday
that OPEC will cut output further, if needed, to achieve
stability in the oil market [], adding to comments
by Venezuelan oil minister last week that OPEC should cut oil
output by another 1 million bpd by December and should set a
minimum price target of $70 or $80 a barrel.
Crude oil speculators on the New York Mercantile Exchange
shifted to net short positions in the week Oct. 28, the U.S.
Commodity Futures Trading Commissions reported on Friday.
[]
(Editing by Ramthan Hussain)
