* Product demand seen up
* Poll shows expected draw in crude stocks
(Recasts, updates prices, market activity to settlement, adds
inventory poll)
By Edward McAllister
NEW YORK, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Oil prices rose slightly on
Tuesday, topping $79 a barrel, as demand for oil products
supported crude, outweighing pressure from a stronger dollar.
U.S. crude for December delivery <CLc1> settled up 24 cents
at $79.14. Brent crude <LCOc1> for January delivery rose 21
cents to settle at $78.97.
Products futures rose on the promise of demand increases
heading into the holiday season.
"There is a feeling that demand, after all, will improve in
the upcoming holidays," said Mark Waggoner, president of Excel
Futures in Huntington Beach, California.
Investors have scrutinized economic data in recent months
for signs of global recovery and a potential rebound in energy
demand.
"Today, we're seeing crude futures buck the trend as they
are not at this point moving in the usual correlation with the
dollar or the equities markets," said Andy Lebow, broker, MF
Global, New York.
The dollar on Tuesday rebounded strongly from its 15-month
lows, [] making commodities such as crude more expensive.
Gold also fell as the dollar rose. []
Markets expect the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates
near zero for some time, and this sentiment has weighed on the
dollar and fueled gains in raw materials in recent weeks.
Wall Street stocks were little changed on Tuesday as
outlooks from Target <TGT.N> and Home Depot <HD.N> sparked
caution about holiday spending, offsetting upbeat broker views
on Microsoft <MSFT.O> and Exxon Mobil <XOM.N>.
U.S. oil inventory data from industry group the American
Petroleum Institute is due later on Tuesday and the
government's figures follow on Wednesday. []
An updated Reuters poll showed analysts expect data for
last week to show a draw of 300,000 barrels in crude stocks,
with distillates down 700,000 barrels and gasoline unchanged.
Oil has rallied from below $33 last December even though
global demand fell year-on-year for the first nine months of
2009, according to the International Energy Agency, and demand
in wealthy countries has not improved much. []
Still, some analysts expect demand from emerging markets
will more than compensate, boosting fuel consumption down the
road.
"The market is increasingly expecting EM (emerging markets)
demand to crowd out future OECD demand growth, and is putting
upward pressure on long-dated prices, leaving the market in a
new higher trading range of $75 to $82," Goldman Sachs said in
a report.
(Additional reporting by Gene Ramos and Robert Gibbons in New
York, Alex Lawler in London and Fayen Wong in Perth; Editing by
David Gregorio)
