* U.S. consumer demand data fans economic recovery doubts
* IMF, EU halt Hungary fund review, sparking debt worries
* Draws in oil stocks, higher demand forecasts supportive
* Coming up: U.S. API oil inventory data - Tuesday, 2030 GMT
(Updates detail, prices)
By Christopher Johnson
LONDON, July 19 (Reuters) - Oil prices steadied around $76
per barrel on Monday as investors weighed a sharp drop in U.S.
consumer sentiment against early signs of improving oil demand.
Analysts said oil prices were moving in a range around $75
per barrel with ample support due to large drawdowns in U.S.
crude oil inventories over the past three weeks. []
U.S. crude for August delivery <CLc1> fell 1 cent to $76.00
per barrel by 1225 GMT. The contract settled down 61 cents at
$76.01 a barrel on Friday, closing the week almost unchanged.
London Brent crude <LCOc1> lost 2 cents to $75.35.
Oil prices initially rose as much as $2 last week, supported
by good U.S. corporate earnings, a fall in U.S. crude stockpiles
and an upward revision in global oil demand forecasts.
But investors who believed the world economy is on shaky
ground got ammunition on Friday after U.S. data showed consumer
prices fell for a third month in June while consumer sentiment
dropped to a near one-year low. []
"The net change in the last week was a rather insignificant
8 cents per barrel, illustrating just how difficult it has been
for any trend to get established," said Edward Meir, senior
commodity analyst at brokers MF Global, said in a client note.
FUNDS ON THE SIDELINES
"Part of the explanation behind this inconclusive pattern
seems to be that fund money remains on the sidelines," Meir
said, adding that although exchange data showed a modest uptick
in net long exposure this past week, "the overall long-side bias
remains minimal and not that firmly committed."
Implied volatility for U.S. crude <CLATMIV> has fallen to
about 30 percent over the last month as prices have stabilised
around $75 per barrel, which is in the middle of the price range
preferred by many oil producers and consumer governments.
Technical analysts who look at price charts see strong
support for August U.S. crude futures from the 50-day morning
average (MA), now at $74.31, and solid overhead resistance at
the 200-day MA, $3 higher at $77.51.
For a technical view of oil prices, see: []
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For a graphic of U.S. Light Crude Oil futures prices this
year showing At The Money Implied Volatility, click:
http://link.reuters.com/nuc38m
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"The oil market is within a fairly well defined range," said
Eugen Weinberg, head of commodities research at Commerzbank.
"We are getting support from equity markets and also a bit
from the weakness of the dollar against the euro."
News the IMF and European Union suspended a review of
Hungary's funding programme deepened euro zone worries, as the
country will not have access to funds in its $25.1 billion loan
package until the review is concluded. []
European stocks strengthened a little on Monday, while the
U.S. dollar index <.DXY> was flat against a basket of currencies
as investors wound back on riskier assets. The euro <EUR=> was
up 0.2 percent against the dollar. [] []
China closed the Dalian Xingang oil port in northeast China,
home to the country's largest oil reserve bases, after crude
pipeline explosions spilled oil into the sea, an industry
executive said on Monday. []
State oil major PetroChina <0857.HK>, which operates two
refineries in Dalian, has started trimming refinery operations
to cope with one week's closure of the main oil port. As many as
six Very Large Crude Carriers, or 12 million barrels of crude
oil, are set to be diverted from the port. []
(Additional reporting by Fayen Wong in Perth; editing by Alison
Birrane)
