* Oil touches lowest since Oct. 5
* Dollar falls against currency basket
* Demand concerns, technicals pressure crude
(Updates prices, adds graphic)
By Alex Lawler
LONDON, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Oil headed lower for a ninth
straight session on Monday to trade below $70 a barrel,
pressured by concerns over weak fuel demand and brimming
inventories.
The market pared losses after Abu Dhabi bailed out Dubai
with $10 billion in surprise aid for Dubai World, which boosted
stock markets as risk appetite improved and eased fears of a
potential debt default.
Crude for January delivery <CLc1> fell 34 cents to $69.53 a
barrel by 1009 GMT, after falling as low as $68.59 earlier in
the session, the weakest since Oct. 5. Brent crude <LCOc1> was
up 3 cents at $71.91.
Analysts who watch past price moves for future direction
have been saying a move below $70 for U.S. crude could trigger
further losses since there is little strong technical support
until around $65 a barrel.
"The losing streak culminating on Friday has been the
longest one since a nine-day slide in July 2001, and has also
turned the chart patterns distinctly negative," said Edward
Meir, analyst at MF Global.
"The question now becomes where we head from here, and from
the looks of things, we suspect there is more downside to go."
If the U.S. crude contract settles down on Monday, that
would match the nine-day losing streak in July 2001. Crude is up
from below $33 in December 2008, but is still less than half its
July 2008 record high of more than $147.
Concern about a sluggish recovery in global fuel demand,
along with high stockpiles in the United States, has pressured
crude prices.
In particular, stocks at Cushing, the delivery point for
NYMEX WTI crude futures, have swelled by 7.8 million barrels in
the last six weeks to 33.4 million barrels <USOICC=ECI>, putting
pressure on the nearby month.
One item high on investors' radar this week is the U.S.
Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision to be announced on
Wednesday. Rates are expected to stay unchanged at near zero.
Ministers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting
Countries say the group is likely to hold its output targets
steady at a Dec. 22 meeting. OPEC has unofficially been putting
more oil on the market since April as prices rallied.
Keeping targets steady at the meeting in Angola would allow
OPEC to continue to make unofficial adjustments in supply
depending on the pace of economic recovery and prices next year.
For a graphic of the oil price this year, click on
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/129/CMD_OILSPL1209.gif
(Additional reporting by Osamu Tsukimori in Tokyo; Editing by
Barbara Lewis)
