* Oil down as tropical storm did not cause major damages
* Ongoing mortgage crisis continue to weigh on sentiment
* Conflict between Russia and Georgia poses supply threats
SINGAPORE, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Oil was down to nearly $112 a
barrel on Tuesday as concerns over possible supply disruptions
in the Gulf of Mexico eased after a tropical storm swept
through without causing any major damage.
U.S. crude <CLc1> eased by 71 cents to $112.16 a barrel at
0230 GMT, while London Brent crude <LCOc1> fell 58 cents to
$111.36 a barrel.
A host of bearish factors including the ongoing mortgage
crisis in the U.S., consumers' anxiety over worsening job
conditions and a weak economic outlook in Europe were also
weighing on crude prices, which have slid 24 percent since a
peak of more than $147 a barrel in mid-July.
Home builder sentiment in the U.S. was at a record low in
August, depressed by ever-tightening lending conditions and a
flood of foreclosed homes, data from the National Association
of Home Builders showed. []
Tropical Storm Fay swept over the Florida Keys with heavy
rain and 60 mph (97 kph) winds and churned toward the Florida
mainland on Monday after killing more than 50 people in the
Caribbean.
However, the sixth storm of the 2008 Atlantic season did
not reach hurricane strength before rolling across the
vulnerable, low-lying Florida island chain, where authorities
reported minor flooding. []
But even as Fay passed, energy markets started eyeing
another low-pressure system about 725 miles (1,167 km)
west-southwest of the Cape Verde islands. []
"The hurricane season is still a major issue as seen in
2005 with Katrina. We have to be mindful of that," said Peter
McGuire, managing director of Commodity Warrants Australia.
Military tensions between Russia and Georgia were far from
over, and continued to hinder energy shipments in the region.
BP Plc <BP.L> said exports of Azeri oil by rail to Georgia
had stopped because of damage to a railway line in Georgia.
[]
The U.S. and France on Monday urged a speedy Russian
withdrawal in line with a French-mediated ceasefire accord.
However, this and other similar appeals have had no visible
impact as Moscow has declined to set a pullout timetable.
Russia's Defence Ministry has said the army's withdrawal
from Georgia has started, but on Monday a Reuters correspondent
who travelled to the central town of Gori saw little evidence
of a pullout from the area. []
"We have to watch how it all plays out; where the U.S.
dollar would go and where the stocks market is," McGuire added.
On Tuesday, the dollar was little changed from late U.S.
trade at 110.06 yen <JPY=>, holding off a seven-month peak of
110.67 yen struck last week.
(Reporting by Seng Li Peng; Editing by Michael Urquhart)
