* U.S. retail sales down, jobless claims up
* CFTC proposes energy trader position limits
* Prices in range between $75 and $85 a barrel
(Updates prices, adds detail on CFTC proposals)
By Edward McAllister
NEW YORK, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Oil prices slipped marginally
on Thursday as weak U.S. economic signals spurred fears of a
sluggish rebound in demand in the world's largest energy
consumer.
U.S. retail sales fell 0.3 percent last month, the first
decline in three months, according to the Commerce Department,
while Labor Department data showed more people sought jobless
benefits last week. []
U.S. crude for February delivery <CLc1> fell 6 cents to
$79.59 a barrel by 1:25 p.m. EST (1825 GMT), after touching a
2010 low of $78.37 on Wednesday. In London, Brent crude for
February <LC0c1> fell 38 cents to $77.93 a barrel ahead of its
expiry later in the day.
U.S. crude oil stocks rose by a larger-than-expected 3.7
million barrels last week, Energy Information Administration
data showed on Wednesday. And, while heating oil stocks fell by
1.1 million barrels, stocks for the broader category known as
distillates still rose by 1.4 million barrels. []
"Crude futures are down in follow-through selling after
yesterday's EIA data showed very large builds in petroleum
inventories. Data on retail sales have been disappointing
also," said Brad Samples, analyst at Summit Energy in
Louisville, Kentucky.
U.S. economic activity is now at a low level but is showing
signs of modest improvement, the Federal Reserve said on
Wednesday, in remarks seen as reinforcing the prevailing view
that oil demand will grow in 2010. []
Early this month, oil prices rallied to 15-month highs near
$84 a barrel as freezing weather across much of the Northern
Hemisphere boosted heating demand. Prices then fell, partly on
a surprise jump in U.S. distillate stocks, including heating
oil, and a rise in crude oil inventories.
Some traders chose to take advantage of Wednesday's price
dip by covering short positions and this also helped boost
prices back to near $80 a barrel on Thursday, analysts said.
"Prices are moving in a $75-$85 range. It was very good
timing to buy back the market," said Ken Hasegawa, a commodity
derivatives manager at brokerage Newedge in Japan.
PRICES UNMOVED BY CFTC
The top U.S. futures market regulator moved on Thursday to
limit the role of big traders in once high-flying energy
markets, unveiling proposals to put a hard cap on the size of
positions that dealers can hold, but offering a limited
exemption for big financial hedgers. []
The long-awaited proposals, part of the Obama
administration's push to overhaul financial markets, will apply
to the four most-traded energy contracts on the two major
exchanges.
But it remains to be seen if the limits -- which CFTC said
would affect only the 10 biggest position holders, if
implemented today -- are sufficient to satisfy lawmakers who
have clamored for regulatory action since oil prices surged to
a record $147 in 2008.
Oil and gas futures were largely unmoved following the
release of the proposals on Thursday.
(Additional reporting by Gene Ramos in New York, Emma Farge in
London, and Alejandro Barbajosa in Singapore; Editing by Walter
Bagley)
