* U.S. crude stockpiles likely to have risen - poll []
* China raises fuel prices by 3 percent []
* Oil price link to U.S. dollar strongest in 14 months
* Coming Up: U.S. API oil inventory weekly report 2030 GMT
(Updates prices)
By Christopher Johnson
LONDON, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Oil slipped towards $82 on
Tuesday, consolidating after two days of gains as the dollar
rose and ahead of a report expected to show an increase in U.S.
crude oil stockpiles.
U.S. crude for December <CLc1> was down 44 cents at $82.08
by 1330 GMT after gaining almost $2 in the previous two days.
ICE Brent <LCOc1> fell 30 cents to $83.24.
Industry group the American Petroleum Institute (API) was
due to release its weekly inventory report at 2030 GMT, while
government statistics from the U.S. Energy Information
Administration will follow on Wednesday at 1430 GMT.
Crude stockpiles in the United States probably rose by 1.4
million barrels the week ended Oct. 22 as imports piled up, a
Reuters poll showed.
The gain in crude inventories was probably limited by higher
refinery demand as refinery utilisation rose 0.3 percentage
point to 82.8 percent of capacity, the Reuters survey said.
"The U.S. oil data will be a reminder that the oil market is
well supplied and that prices over $80 per barrel are not driven
by fundamentals," said Carsten Fritsch, an oil analyst at
Commerzbank in Frankfurt.
Oil also came under some pressure from a rise in the dollar
<.DXY>, which has tended to move inversely to commodities.
Crude prices are more dependent on dollar fluctuations than
at any time in the past 14 months as speculation intensifies
that the U.S. Federal Reserve will embark on a fresh round of
monetary stimulus to boost recovery. []
The inverse correlation between the dollar and oil has
become deeply entrenched, partly because investors have been
buying emerging market shares and commodities as the dollar has
dropped.
FRENCH STRIKES
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For a graphic of the inverse correlation between U.S. crude
and the value of the dollar against a basket of currencies:
http://link.reuters.com/gac32q
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U.S. distillate stockpiles are likely to have dropped by 1.9
million barrels for a fourth consecutive week of declines, while
gasoline inventories were seen rising by 500,000 barrels for a
second straight week of gains, the Reuters poll said.
Prolonged strikes in France probably dragged larger amounts
of distillate fuel from the United States, contributing to the
expected stock draw, analysts said.
Oil refinery strikes in France against unpopular pension
reforms lost steam on Tuesday, with walkouts ending at several
plants and unions sounding keener on talks with employers than
pursuing the showdown. []
Fuel was leaving four of France's 12 oil refineries after
barricades were lifted. Workers at three refineries have ended
their two-week strike action, although port strikes were still
preventing crude oil from reaching the plants.
The strike at the Fos-Lavera oil terminals in southern
France was blocking 60 oil tankers on Tuesday, including 40
crude tankers, the port of Marseille said. []
China will raise retail fuel prices by about 3 percent from
Tuesday in its first hike in seven months, a move bringing
prices back to near record highs but unlikely to dampen oil
demand in the world number-two consumer. []
Analysts said the hike would probably have limited impact on
Chinese oil demand and on international prices.
"The Chinese move is already fully discounted by the
market," said Fritsch at Commerzbank.
(Additional reporting by Alejandro Barbajosa in Singapore;
editing by Alison Birrane)
