* Iran tensions, fears of Nigeria strike support prices
* Kuwait to pump more next year
* Key events ahead include Fed meet, U.S. oil data
NEW YORK, June 24 (Reuters) - Oil steadied at over $136 a
barrel on Tuesday as concerns over Nigerian supply disruptions
and tensions between Iran and Israel offset pledges of higher
production from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
U.S. crude <CLc1> slipped 30 cents at $136.44 barrel by
1:20 p.m. EDT (1720 GMT) after trading as high as $138.75
earlier, while London Brent crude <LCOc1> gained 7 cents to
trade at $135.98 a barrel.
Oil prices rose early on rumors of an attack on Iran's
nuclear sites amid rising tensions with Israel over the OPEC
nation's nuclear program.
A senior Iranian official denied any attack had occurred
and an Israeli army spokesman said they were not aware of any
incident. The statements helped calm financial markets and
eroded oil's early gains. []
Analysts are worried heightened tensions between Iran and
the West could threaten the Straits of Hormuz, a narrow
waterway separating Iran from the Arabian Peninsula through
which roughly 40 percent of the world's traded oil flows.
Further support came from the weaker dollar and concerns
about supplies from Nigeria.
"The dollar weakness gave us a push this morning," said Tom
Bentz of BNP Paribas Commodity Futures Inc. in New York.
"The market is concerned about the missing Nigerian crude
supply and obviously the tensions between Iran and Israel."
Investors have rushed into crude and other commodities this
year as a hedge against the falling greenback and inflation,
helping to push oil to a record near $140 a barrel last week.
Markets are eyeing the dollar ahead of the U.S. Federal
Reserve's interest rate decision on Wednesday, where the Fed is
expected to leave rates unchanged.
Nigeria's senior oil workers union began a limited strike
at Chevron offices on Monday. The stoppage has not hit
production, but has added to concerns about further
disruptions OPEC nation, where militant attacks shut 340,000
barrels per day (bpd) of production last week. []
United Nations official Ibrahim Gambari will seek a 90-day
truce with militants that have attacked oil facilities in the
oil-producing Niger Delta. []
The disruptions have added to bullish sentiment that has
sent prices up 40 percent this year, extending a six year rally
in oil as production struggles to keep up with surging demand
from emerging economies like China.
Oil cartel OPEC insists supplies are ample and blame the
rise on speculators, although top exporter Saudi Arabia
announced over the weekend at a meeting between producers and
consumers it would hike output in an attempt to cool markets.
Kuwait, another one of the few OPEC members with spare
capacity, plans to increase its oil output by 300,000 barrels
per day starting mid-2009, state news agency KUNA reported.
Rising fuel costs have hurt the economies of consuming
nations and sparked protests around the globe.
The market is also awaiting U.S. weekly oil inventory data
due on Wednesday. A Reuters poll of analysts forecast a build
in crude, gasoline, and distillate stockpiles. []
(Reporting by Matthew Robinson, Robert Gibbons, Gene Ramos in
New York, Jane Merriman in London; Editing by David Gregorio)
