* Oil little changed at around $145 a barrel
* U.S. Treasury, Fed shore up Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac
* Iran threat, Brazil strike erase early losses
(Releads, adds quotes, Brazil strike)
By Fayen Wong
PERTH, July 14 (Reuters) - Oil was little changed at $145
on Monday as the risk of supply disruptions wiped away losses
linked to massive U.S. aid for embattled mortgage lenders
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that bolstered confidence in the
financial sector.
Prices initially fell by more than $2.50 as the dollar
bounded higher, but erased those losses as Brazilian oil
workers began a five-day strike. Dealers were also on edge
after Nigerian militants abandoned a cease-fire and Iran's
president promised a harsh response against those who
threatened the OPEC member.
U.S. light crude for August delivery <CLc1> slipped 6 cents
to $145.04 a barrel by 0356 GMT after touching a session low of
$142.49 a barrel in early electronic trade.
London Brent crude <LCOc1> fell 4 cents to $144.45.
"Oil's fall this morning is generally due to gains in the
U.S. dollar as well as some profit-taking in the market," said
Gerard Burg, a commodities analyst from the National Australian
Bank in Melbourne.
"But there are still a lot of upside risks and there's
nothing much to stop prices from heading towards the $150 mark
in the coming weeks or months."
After tumbling in the early part of last week, oil prices
lurched higher on Thursday and Friday, surging more than $8 in
two days to hit a record high $147.27 a barrel on production
threats in Brazil and Nigeria, plus geopolitical anxiety over
Iran and dollar weakness linked to fears over Fannie and
Freddie.
On Monday attention shifted briefly back toward the
financial sector after the U.S. Treasury Department and the
Federal Reserve launched sweeping measures on Sunday to restore
confidence in Fannie Mae <FNM.N> and Freddie Mac <FRE.N>.
[]
The dollar inched up from near a record low against the
euro on Monday, driving some traders to unwind recent oil
buying as a hedge against the falling dollar, but optimism
among equity traders was tempered by concerns that the
government plan highlighted the extent of the sector's woes.
[]
Oil prices have risen seven-fold since 2002 amid surging
demand from China and other emerging markets, and jumped 50
percent this year alone, battering the economies of consumer
nations already hit hard by the global credit crunch.
SUPPLY FEARS
Fundamental concerns again came to the fore as Brazilian
oil workers at national energy giant Petrobas <PETR4.SA><PBR.N>
began a planned five-day strike at the country's key fields in
the Campos basin at midnight on Sunday. []
Campos accounts for more than 80 percent of Brazil's crude
output of 1.8 million barrels per day.
"Oil prices moved back up because the market saw buying
opportunities around $143. There are a lot more upside risks to
prices in the short terms, especially tension between Iran and
Israel," said Ryuichi Sato, an analyst at Mizuho Corporate Bank
in Tokyo.
Iran's president said his country would strike its enemies
before they managed to fire a shot, media reported on Sunday,
part of an escalating war of worlds on its nuclear ambitions
fuelling Middle East tensions. []
Missile tests last week by Iran, against a backdrop of
rising tensions with Israel and the United States, have left
the oil markets worried about a potential supply disruption
from the world's No. 4 exporter.
In Nigeria, the main militant group in the oil-producing
Niger Delta said last week it was abandoning a cease-fire to
protest against a British offer to help tackle lawlessness.
Oil shipments from the world's eighth biggest exporter have
fallen by a fifth since 2006 due to escalating violence in the
delta.
(Reporting by Fayen Wong; Editing by Jonathan Leff)
