(Updates throughout, adds quote)
By Maryelle Demongeot
LONDON, March 25 (Reuters) - Oil edged down on Tuesday for
the fourth straight day, relinquishing earlier gains, as fresh
concerns about weaker demand in top oil consumer the United
States tempted some players to cash in.
U.S. crude <CLc1> was down 66 cents to $100.20 a barrel by
1440 GMT, off the day's high of $101.60, and sharply down from a
record high of $111.80 touched on March 17.
London Brent crude <LCOc1> fell 2 cents at $99.84 a barrel.
"Sentiment is likely to turn sour again and the latest U.S.
consumer confidence data is not encouraging news," said Harry
Tchilinguirian, analyst at BNP Paribas.
Data out of the United States showed consumer confidence
sinking to a five-year low in March, rekindling uncertainty
about the health of the U.S. economy and hitting the dollar and
Wall Street.
Other commodities held up. Gold <XAU=> rebounded after the
dollar resumed its downward trend [].
A recovery in the dollar from recent lows against the euro
ahead of the Easter break had helped push oil prices down late
last week and on Monday, as it pressured its nominal price.
"The question is how bad the U.S. economy is going to be. So
the tendency for the time being is to back off after people took
profit from last week's highs," Tony Nunan, risk management
executive at Tokyo-based Mitsubishi, said.
Oil has dropped more than $10 from last week's record as
investors have fled commodities on a view gains have been
overdone.
A slowdown in the U.S. economy, combined with a seasonal
fall in demand in the second quarter, may drive oil prices below
the $100 mark for the coming weeks, analysts said.
"There is a realisation in the market that the fundamentals
really don't justify prices to be so far above $100," said
Gerard Burg, a resource analyst at the National Australia Bank.
"One of the key factors is the recent build-up in U.S.
stockpiles and the stocks are looking pretty healthy at this
stage," he added.
Analysts expect a third rise in a row in weekly U.S. crude
oil stocks, seen up 700,000 barrels in the week to March 21,
according to a preliminary Reuters poll ahead of Wednesday's
government data.
The nine analysts polled also expected a more bullish 1.6
million barrels fall in distillates stocks and a 900,000-barrel
fall in gasoline inventories.
In Iraq security forces launched a major operation in the
southern oil city Basra to bring it under government control.
Iraqi oil sources said Basra's oilfields, which exported
1.54 million barrels per day in February, were operating
normally on Tuesday. [].
(Editing by James Jukwey)
