* Goldman sees risk oil prices could fall
* African plan fails to halt Libya fighting
* Average U.S. gasoline prices near $4/gallon - survey
* Coming up: MasterCard fuel demand data 2 p.m. EDT Tues
(Recasts, updates prices and market activity)
By Robert Gibbons
NEW YORK, April 11 (Reuters) - Oil prices slumped on Monday, pulling back
from 32-month peaks on concerns about high prices eroding demand and
threatening economic recovery as investors eyed attempts to halt Libya's
conflict.
Analysts and brokers pointed to overbought technicals along with the
mounting concerns about demand highlighted by Goldman Sachs telling clients
there is a strong chance commodity prices may reverse, recommending they take
profits. []
The threat to consumption from rising U.S. gasoline prices also was cited
by brokers and analysts, with Goldman Sachs and fuel price tracker Trilby
Lundberg both citing demand destruction from high gasoline prices.
Brent and U.S. crude felt pressure early when the African Union said Libyan
leader Muammar Gaddafi had accepted a road map to end the civil war, including
an immediate ceasefire, though rebels said any settlement would require Gaddafi
step down. []
But Gaddafi forces continued to shell the besieged town of Misrata, and a
NATO official said Gaddafi's forces would be targeted as long as they
threatened civilians. []
Brent crude for May <LCOc1> fell $2.92 to $123.73 a barrel by 2:48 p.m. EDT
(1848 GMT), dropping as low as $123.62 after reaching a 32-month peak of
$127.02.
U.S. crude <CLc1> fell $2.87 to settle at $109.92, pulling back after
reaching an early $113.46 peak, the highest intraday price since September
2008.
"Technicals indicated crude was overbought, with RSI (Relative Strength
Index) for both Brent and WTI over 70 this morning," said Richard Ilczyszyn
senior market strategist at Lind-Waldock in Chicago.
"Traders came in and Nigeria hadn't imploded and behind the scenes people
are trying to get Libya solved because oil can't stay this high without
threatening the recovery."
The 14-day RSI, a measure of whether a contract is overbought or oversold a
contract is, approached 80 on Friday for Brent, according to Reuters data.
[] A reading above 70 is considered overbought, while anything
under 30 is oversold.
PRICE THREAT TO DEMAND
The average U.S. retail gasoline price moved closer to $4 a gallon, jumping
more than 19 cents since mid-March to a level less than 10 percent below its
all-time high, according to the widely followed Lundberg Survey.
[]
Goldman Sachs <GS.N> pointed to, "nascent signs of oil demand destruction
in the United States," and to speculative length, along with the possibility of
a Libya cease-fire and Nigeria's elections that have thus far not resulted in
unusual supply disruptions. []
The International Monetary Fund warned in its World Economic Outlook that
soaring oil prices and inflation in emerging economies pose risks to the world
economy but are not yet strong enough to derail it. []
Demand concerns also remain about Japan, which expanded the evacuation zone
around its damaged nuclear plant because of high levels of accumulated
radiation, as a strong aftershock rattled the area one month after a massive
quake and tsunami. []
Weekly oil inventory reports will offer a fresh snapshot of U.S. demand and
stockpiles. Analysts surveyed on Monday expected crude stocks to have risen
last week, with distillate stocks dipping and gasoline stocks dropping.
[]
POTENTIAL THREATS TO SUPPLY
Analysts remain skeptical about the prospect for any Libyan peace deal.
Commerzbank's Carsten Fritsch said: "We have seen such peace plans before ...
Unless Gaddafi steps down I think there is little room for discussion from the
rebel side."
With Libyan production curbed sharply, Saudi Arabia is still expected to
fill any supply gap, which makes unrest and protests in regional neighbors
Yemen, Bahrain, and Syria and revived unrest in Egypt, that much more
unsettling.
A senior Gulf source dismissed doubts among analysts about Saudi Arabia's
claimed 12.5 million barrels per day capacity as the work of speculators trying
to manipulate oil prices. []
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Libya graphics http://link.reuters.com/neg68r
Interactive graphic http://link.reuters.com/puk87r
Reuters Insider-Doomsday Scenarios for Oil:
http://link.reuters.com/ner88r
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(Additional reporting by Gene Ramos in New York, Claire Milhench in London and
Florence Tan in Singapore; Editing by Dale Hudson and Alden Bentley)
