* Global investors watch Fed meeting
* Saudi concerned over economic impact from high price
* Geithner says price will not slow global economic recovery
* Coming Up: Weekly API data at 2030 GMT
(Updates prices, adds Geithner)
By Ikuko Kurahone
LONDON, April 26 (Reuters) - Oil traded narrowly lower, then
higher, in nervous, choppy business on Tuesday ahead of a U.S.
Federal Reserve policy meeting that could signal a change in the
country's easy monetary policy.
Prices were also caught between the impact of contrasting
remarks over the economic impact of high oil prices from the
world's top oil exporter Saudi Arabia, which voiced concern, and
the top energy consumer the United States, which said current
levels did not pose a risk.
By 1441 GMT, North Sea Brent crude futures <LCOc1> were 50
cents up at $124.16 a barrel, having briefly turned negative.
U.S. crude futures <CLc1> were trading 20 cents higher at
$112.48 a barrel.
Analysts said they expected some investors would rely on
technical indicators to take profits from short-term trading and
the price range might remain very narrow until the Fed meeting
wraps up on Wednesday.
"This week, it will be all about the Fed meeting. Volume and
volatility will come back after the meeting," said Olivier Jakob
of Petromatrix in Switzerland.
Investors were focused 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.
Brent crude was around $86 a barrel in late April last year.
A senior official with Saudi Arabian state-run firm Aramco
voiced concern 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. []
On the other hand, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner
said the current level of oil prices would not endanger global
economic recovery.
"At current levels, on its own, it won't put the recovery at
risk," Geithner told an event sponsored by the Council on
Foreign Relations. []
At 2030 GMT, U.S. oil industry group the American Petroleum
Institute (API) will issue its weekly oil data, 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 Anthony Barker)
