* Global investors watch Fed April 26-27 policy meeting
* Saudi concerned over economic impact from high price
* Coming up: EIA oil data, 10:30 a.m. EDT Wednesday
(Updates with API data, paragraphs 18-23 and trucking data
paragraph 25)
By Robert Gibbons
NEW YORK, April 26 (Reuters) - Brent crude edged up in
volatile trading while U.S. crude ended little changed on
Tuesday as investors eyed a U.S. Federal Reserve two-day policy
meeting for any signal of a change in monetary policy.
The U.S. dollar remained under pressure on expectations
that the Fed will keep monetary policy accommodative, helping
support dollar-denominated oil prices that have benefited by
attracting investment as a hedge against inflation.
Comments by the chief of Saudi Arabia's state-run company
Aramco, who voiced concern about the impact of high oil prices
on the global economy, pressured crude early on Tuesday.
[]
The Saudi view contrasted with U.S. Treasury Secretary
Timothy Geithner's remarks that oil, "at current levels, on its
own, it won't put the recovery at risk." []
A power outage affected operations at several refiners in
Texas City, Texas, lifting U.S. gasoline <RBc1> and heating oil
<HOc1> futures and supporting crude. []
Brent crude for June <LCOc1> gained 48 cents to settle at
$124.14 a barrel, having bounced off a $122.78 low.
U.S. crude <CLc1> for June fell 7 cents settle at $112.21.
Tuesday's trading saw U.S. crude seesaw between a $111.12
low and a $112.64 peak. It reached $113.48 on Monday, its
highest intraday price since September 2008, before ending the
day down 1 penny.
Libya's civil war and violence-tinged unrest Syria and
Yemen helped limit bearish sentiment or a price slide, keeping
the potential for supply disruption in the region highlighted.
[] [] []
Tensions between Bahrain and Tehran escalated as Bahrain
ordered the expulsion of an Iranian diplomat for alleged links
to a spy ring in Kuwait. []
Oil's rallies have been fueled recently by geopolitical
supply worries and expectations the dollar will stay under
pressure, but price pull backs have resulted from increasing
concerns about the threat to oil demand from high prices.
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For a 24-hour technical outlook on oil:
http://r.reuters.com/nut29r
For a 24-hour technical outlook on Brent:
http://r.reuters.com/qut29r
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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Analysts and brokers said investors would be cautious
awaiting the result of the Fed's Federal Open Market Committee
meeting that started on Tuesday and will include a news
conference 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.
Both U.S. and Brent crude trading volumes outpaced Monday's
depressed totals, but they remained on track to continue to lag
30- and 250-day averages, according to Reuters data.
DOLLAR UNDER PRESSURE
The euro jumped to a 16-month high against the dollar, with
no respite seen for the greenback as long as the Fed lags other
major central banks in raising interest rates. []
The dollar index <.DXY>, measuring the greenback against a
basket of currencies, weakened.
"Exchange rates and lack of confidence in the currency have
been supportive to oil. The market is going to be cautious and
wait to see if the Fed and (Chairman) Bernanke address rising
energy prices and inflation," said Phil Flynn, analyst at
PFGBest Research in Chicago.
U.S. OIL INVENTORIES
U.S. crude stocks jumped 4.9 million barrels last week as
imports increased, the industry group the American Petroleum
Institute (API) said late on Tuesday. []
Gasoline stocks fell 2.1 million barrels and distillate
inventories rose 1.5 million barrels, the API report said.
Ahead of the API report, a Reuters poll on Tuesday yielded
a forecast for crude stocks to be up only 800,000 barrels.
Gasoline stocks were expected to be down 1.1 million
barrels and distillate stocks nearly unchanged, up only 100,000
barrels. []
After the API data, U.S. crude prices fell further and
Brent pared gains slightly in post-settlement trading.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration's weekly report
is due on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. EDT (1430 GMT).
U.S. retail gasoline demand fell last week from the
previous week, but rebounded modestly versus the year-ago
period, a MasterCard Advisors' report showed. []
The index that tracks tonnage hauled by trucks in the
United States rose in March, but higher fuel prices threaten
the growth, the American Trucking Associations trade group
said. []
(Additional reporting by Gene Ramos in New York, Ikuko
Kurahone in London and Manash Goswami and Florence Tan in
Singapore; Editing by Marguerita Choy and David Gregorio)
