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NYMEX-Crude seesaws in thin trade, eyes dollar

Mon Aug 25, 2008 12:00pm EDT

* Dollar up slightly versus euro but seesawing

Global Markets  |  Funds News  |  ETFs News  |  China

* Iran says OPEC to study oversupply, prevent price slide

NEW YORK, Aug 25 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures edged up in thin, seesaw trading on Monday as oil markets eyed the volatile dollar and remarks from Iran saying OPEC will focus on stemming the recent oil price slide at its September meeting.

"Technicals have a consolidative look, and there is no fresh fundamental news of any consequence to move the markets," John Kilduff, senior vice president at MF Global, wrote in a research note.

A holiday in London helped reduce trading already thinned by late-summer vacations ahead of next Monday's U.S. Labor Day holiday.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange at 11:47 a.m. EDT (1547 GMT), October crude CLV8 was up 16 cents, or 0.14 percent, at $114.75 per barrel, trading from $113.68 to $116.06.

In London, October Brent LCOV8 was up 21 cents, or 0.18 percent, at $114.13 a barrel, trading from $113 to $115.60.

The U.S. dollar, also seesawing, inched up against the euro and earlier trimmed losses against the yen after data showed U.S. existing home sales rose more than expected in July.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Monday an area of low pressure over the central Caribbean Sea had formed into the season's latest tropical depression. [ID:nN25374808]

Iran's oil minister was quoted as saying he expected members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries at their Sept. 9 meeting to work on stopping the recent price slide and study market oversupply. [ID:nLP654321]

OPEC member Kuwait is pumping crude oil at a rate of around 2.5 million barrels per day, but aims to boost capacity to 3 million bpd in the first half of 2009, a top oil official said on Monday. [ID:nLP720985]

Crude oil loading from the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline was to restart on Monday for the first time since it shut after a blast this month, pipeline consortium and Turkish energy ministry sources told Reuters. [ID:nLP564994]

The International Monetary Fund has trimmed its forecasts for 2008 and 2009 world economic growth in a note prepared for a meeting of the Group of 20 nations, a G20 finance official told Reuters on Monday. [ID:nLP653410]

Oil markets continue to watch for signs of slowing demand, especially in Europe, China and other non-U.S. economies.

Products futures were mixed and choppy ahead of the NYMEX September contract expiration on Friday.

September heating oil HOU8 was up 1.54 cent, or 0.49 percent, at $3.1465 a gallon, trading from $3.1127 to $3.1781.

September RBOB RBU8 was down 1.95 cent, or 0.68 percent, at $2.8491 a gallon, trading from $2.8223 to $2.8950. (Reporting by Robert Gibbons; Editing by Walter Bagley)



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