* Global investors watch Fed meeting
* Oil price gains limited as silver tumbles from 1980 high
* U.S. consumer confidence at 1400 GMT; API at 2030 GMT
(Previous SINGAPORE, update throughout, corrects typo in
paragraph 3 to North Sea)
By Ikuko Kurahone
LONDON, April 26 (Reuters) - Oil bounced from earlier losses
on Tuesday on low trading volumes as some investors took
advantage of the dip to buy, though gains were limited ahead of
a closely watched U.S. Federal Reserve policy meeting.
Prices were also capped by the fall in silver and by a
remark from Saudi Arabia that the world's top oil exporter was
concerned about the economic impact of expensive oil.
By 0915 GMT, North Sea Brent crude futures <LCOc1> were
trading 37 cents up at $124.03 a barrel, having fallen to as low
as $122.66 earlier.
U.S. crude futures <CLc1> were trading 10 cents up at
$112.38 a barrel, having dropped by more than $1. On Monday,
U.S. crude had hit $113.48, the highest since September 2008.
Trading volumes were moderate for both contracts.
Analysts said that some investors would rely on technical
indicators to make profits from short-term trading and that the
price range might remain very narrow.
"This week, it will be all about the Fed meeting. Volume and
volatility will come back after the meeting," said Olivier Jakob
with Petromatrix in Switzerland.
Investors were transfixed by the meeting, due to start later
on Tuesday, particularly since Ben Bernanke is to give the first
regularly scheduled news briefing by a Fed chief in the bank's
97-year history following its decision on Wednesday.
[]
Silver remained one of the few volatile contracts, falling
from its highest level since 1980.
"Silver was going ballistic yesterday, and it is something
to watch," Jakob added.
The stunning rally in silver <XAG=> fizzled on Tuesday and
gold edged lower after a seven-day, record-setting run.
The U.S. dollar rose against the euro after European Central
Bank Governor Jean-Claude Trichet said he shared the view that a
strong dollar is in the interest of the United States, a comment
taken by some market players as showing frustration over the
dollar's relentless fall and also an attempt to talk up the
currency.
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For a 24-hour technical outlook on oil:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/WT1/20112604135349.jpg
For a 24-hour technical outlook on Brent:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/WT1/20112604140303.jpg
For stories on Libya & Middle East crisis: []
For a TAKE-A-LOOK on Middle East, N Africa:[]
For top stories on the global economy: []
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SAUDI ARABIA CONCERNED
Oil prices have surged this year due to civil unrest in oil
producer Libya and other countries in North Africa and the
Middle East.
A senior official with Saudi Arabian state-run firm Aramco
voiced concerns over high oil prices.
"We are not comfortable with oil prices where they are today
... I am concerned about the impact it could have on the global
economy," Khalid al-Falih, Aramco's chief executive, told an
industry gathering in Seoul.
Saudi Arabia has enough capacity to meet any spike in demand
and plug short-term outages in supply, and there is no tightness
in global oil markets, Falih said. His comments echoed Saudi Oil
Minister Ali al-Naimi, who said last week that the kingdom had
cut oil output in March as the market was oversupplied.
[]
In the United States, the industry group American Petroleum
Institute (API) will issue its weekly oil data later in the day
followed by the Energy Information Administration on Wednesday.
Analysts forecast the data to show a rise in crude oil
inventories. []
(Additional reporting by Manash Goswami and Florence Tan in
Singapore, editing by Jane Baird)
