* ENI declares force majeure on Brass River crude exports
* Kuwait says no need for OPEC cut in September
* U.S. crude stocks seen lower in inventory reports
(Recasts, updates prices, market activity, revised results of
U.S. inventory poll)
NEW YORK, June 23 (Reuters) - Oil rose nearly 2 percent on
Tuesday as the dollar weakened and disruptions from OPEC member
Nigeria stoked supply concerns.
U.S. crude <CLc1> for August traded up $1.29 to $68.79 a
barrel by 1:57 p.m. EDT (1767 GMT). London Brent crude <LCOc1>
rose $1.44 to $68.42 a barrel.
The U.S. dollar fell against the euro on speculation the
Federal Reserve may lower expectations of an interest rate rise
when it concludes its meeting on Wednesday. []
The dollar's losses supported commodities denominated in
the greenback, pushing up the benchmark Reuters-Jefferies CRB
Index of 19 commodity futures <.CRB>.
"The weaker dollar is supportive and you have the supply
disruptions in Nigeria and the turmoil in Iran," said Joseph
Arsenio, managing director at Arsenio Capital Management in
Larkspur, California.
Italian oil company ENI declared force majeure on shipments
of Brass River crude oil from Nigeria. []
Persistent militant attacks over the past three years have
cut oil output in the OPEC member, the world's eighth biggest
crude oil exporter, to less than two thirds of its installed
capacity of 3 million barrels per day (bpd).
Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L> said it was still checking its
oil operations in Nigeria's Niger Delta after militants claimed
they had launched three attacks against its facilities at the
weekend. []
Nigerian security forces arrested nine gunmen suspected to
be involved in last week's pipeline attack that forced Agip to
halt some oil output in the Niger Delta. []
Economic optimism has helped lift crude prices from below
$40 a barrel in February to above $70 earlier this month.
The chief economist for the International Energy Agency
warned that any strong price rise could clip a rebound in the
global economy. []
Kuwait's oil ministers said OPEC will not cut oil output at
its meeting in September, after the producer group last year
agreed to a series of output cuts to help lift prices.
"Nobody expected the price to reach $70 a barrel so
quickly," Kuwait's Oil Minister Sheikh Ahmad al-Abdullah
al-Sabah told reporters at parliament, adding OPEC would likely
call for greater compliance with current output targets.
"It was forecast by the fourth quarter. So it slipped a bit
but still, if we achieve $75-$80 by the end of the year, that
would be fine."
OPEC's president has previously said the cartel wants an
oil price of $75 a barrel by the end of the year.
Iranian authorities said they would teach an exemplary
lesson to "rioters" held in the worst unrest since the birth of
the Islamic Republic and accused Western powers of inciting the
violence. []
U.S. President Barack Obama strongly condemned the OPEC
country's crackdown on the anti-government protesters, who have
taken to the streets following disputed elections earlier this
month. []
A revised Reuters poll of analysts ahead of U.S. inventory
data forecast crude stocks in the world's top consumer fell by
1.0 million barrels last week on lower imports, while gasoline
and distillates stocks were seen rising. []
U.S. inventory data from the American Petroleum Institute
will be released later on Tuesday, with U.S. Energy Information
Administration data due out on Wednesday.
(Reporting by Matthew Robinson, Gene Ramos, and Robert Gibbons
in New York; Joe Brock in London; Editing by David Gregorio)
