* 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
(Update prices, dollar fall versus euro)
By Ikuko Kurahone
LONDON, April 26 (Reuters) - Oil edged up from earlier
losses on Tuesday in 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 chief of Saudi Arabia's state
oil company comment that the world's top oil exporter was
concerned about the economic impact of expensive oil.
[]
By 1051 GMT, North Sea Brent crude futures <LCOc1> were
trading 20 cents up at $123.86 a barrel, having fallen to as low
as $122.66.
U.S. crude futures <CLc1> were trading 27 cents lower at
$112.01 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 focussed on 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.
[]
The dollar fell to a 16 month low against the euro. []
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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 conflict in oil
producer Libya and unrest in 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 William Hardy)
