* Greek debt crisis firms dollar vs euro
* Dollar rise leads investors away from commodities
* India interest rate boost hurts commodities prices
* Reuters poll sees crude oil surplus this year
(Updates prices, adds details, changes dateline from LONDON
previously)
By Joshua Schneyer
NEW YORK, March 19 (Reuters) - Oil prices fell 2.7 percent
on Friday, its biggest drop in six weeks, as the U.S. dollar
firmed against foreign currencies, slashing investment flows
into oil and other commodities.
Oil prices fell below $80 a barrel as the dollar gained
against the euro on worries over Greece's debt, and after a
Reuters poll forecast over-supply in the oil market this year.
U.S. light crude for April delivery <CLc1> shed $2.27 a
barrel to $79.93 by 12:27 p.m. EDT (1627 GMT), its steepest
drop since Feb. 4. The April NYMEX contract expires on Monday.
London Brent crude for May <LCOc1> fell $2.19 to $79.29.
Concerns over Greece's mounting debt helped push the euro
to a more than two-week low against the dollar and set the
European single currency on track for its worst weekly
performance since January. []
Markets are awaiting a summit next week to see whether
Greece will get financial aid from euro zone members to emerge
from fiscal crisis. []
The U.S. currency firmed against major foreign currencies
by more than 0.7 percent, with the dollar index <.DXY> rising
to its highest since March 5.
"The bears are moving back into the market and looking at
the dollar as a signal to sell (oil)," wrote Stephen Schork,
editor of the Schork report on energy markets.
A stronger dollar makes oil, priced in dollars, more
expensive for foreign currency holders. It also denotes
investors moving away from assets deemed riskier, like
commodities and equities, and into safe-haven bets like U.S.
Treasury notes. The S&P 500 stock index fell by 0.6 percent.
<.SPX>
Commodities also fell after India's Central Bank raised
interest rates in a bid to stem inflation in one of the world's
top energy consumers. The move in India comes after China has
also tightened monetary policy by boosting bank reserve
requirements this year. []
Traders are "concerned about further tightening, not only
in India but also in China," said Eugen Weinberg, Head of
Commodities Research at Commerzbank in Frankfurt.
POLL SEES OIL SURPLUS
According to a Reuters poll of 10 top oil-tracking analysts
and organizations published, the global oil market will likely
face oversupply of 150,000 barrels per day (bpd) this year,
causing stocks to rise, as OPEC pumps more crude than the
market needs. []
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
decided this week to keep its oil production targets at current
levels, maintaining production cuts in place since 2008. But
the producer group is pumping well above its declared targets,
helping keep a lid on prices.
UK consultancy Oil Movements said on Thursday it expected
seaborne oil exports from OPEC, excluding Angola and Ecuador,
would rise by 70,000 bpd in the four weeks to April 3.
[]
Oil prices earlier in March rose above $83 a barrel, near
the top of their 18-month range, as investors bet a broad
economic recovery would boost global demand for crude.
(Additional reporting by Christopher Johnson in London, Robert
Gibbons and Gene Ramos in New York; Editing by Marguerita
Choy)
