* OPEC raises 2010 demand outlook
* Dollar slumps to 14-month low
* Oil rises for fourth day on colder U.S. weather
(Updates prices, adds detail.)
By Joshua Schneyer
NEW YORK, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Oil prices rose to a
seven-week high above $74 a barrel on Tuesday after OPEC raised
its 2010 demand forecast and the dollar weakened, boosting
demand for commodities.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said
a recovering world economy is expected to boost world crude
demand by 700,000 barrels per day next year, to almost 85
million barrels a day. []
Last month, OPEC forecast a 500,000 barrel-per-day increase
in global demand for next year. The U.S. Energy Information
Administration and the Paris-based International Energy Agency
raised their 2010 demand forecasts last week.
"The world economy now appears to be entering into a new
phase, moving from a period of containing the crisis to one of
economic recovery," OPEC said in its report.
U.S. crude <CLc1> rose 88 cents to settle at $74.15 a
barrel, and reached a seven-week high of $74.47 a barrel
earlier.
London Brent crude <LCOc1> gained $1.04 to settle at
$72.40.
The U.S. dollar touched a 14-month low against a basket of
other currencies, which helped gold rally to a fresh record
high. [] Dollar-priced commodities such as oil and gold
tend to rise when the greenback falls as they become cheaper
for holders of other currencies.
Oil prices have surged 65 percent so far this year, but
they failed to break a 2009 high of $75 a barrel Tuesday as
investors remained wary of the pace of a U.S. economic
rebound.
U.S. equities mostly fell after an economic bellwether,
consumer goods giant Johnson & Johnson <JNJ.N>, reported
disappointing quarterly sales figures.
The S&P 500 index slid for the first time in seven days
<.SPX>.
Earnings are due from a number of major U.S. firms this
week, and the oil market is tracking corporate results closely
for signs of broad economic recovery.
"The weak dollar is a reason we're in positive territory
today," said Tim Evans, analyst at Citi Futures Perspective in
New York. "The crude oil market has also become obsessed with
the S&P (stock) index."
Cold weather in the United States also helped boost oil
prices. The National Weather Service forecast the first
seasonal wave of cold weather in the Northeast and Midwest
would boost demand for heating oil to 43 percent above normal
levels. []
U.S. weekly oil inventory data from the American Petroleum
Institute (API) will be delayed until Wednesday due to Monday's
Columbus Day holiday, while the Energy Information
Administration (EIA) report will be released on Thursday.
A Reuters poll of analysts forecast the data will show a
700,000-barrel build in crude stocks last week, after a
surprise drawdown in last week's report. []
(Additional reporting by David Sheppard in London, Robert
Gibbons and Gene Ramos in New York and Jennifer Tan in
Singapore; editing by Jim Marshall)
