* Dollar slips after UAE central bank moves
* Abu Dhabi offers some help to Dubai
(Recasts with prices, detail, changes dateline, previous PERTH)
LONDON, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Oil prices recovered towards $77
a barrel on Monday, aided by a weaker U.S. dollar, but investors
kept a wary eye on debt-laden Dubai and its impact on the global
economy.
Signs of a sluggish recovery in oil demand and high fuel
stockpiles in the United States have kept a lid on crude prices,
which are set for a fall of around 0.5 percent this month, their
first decline since July.
But hopes that the debt crisis in Dubai might be contained
encouraged something of a relief rally on Monday, analysts said.
U.S. light crude oil futures <CLc1> for January was up 50
cents at $76.55 a barrel by 0823 GMT. London Brent crude <LCOc1>
gained 56 cents to $77.74.
"The market is very cautious and that could be driving the
sell-off we saw. There hasn't been much news coming out of the
Gulf area and that has kept a lot of people guessing," said
Benson Wang, a senior advisor at Commodity Broking Services Pty
Ltd in Sydney.
"There are also some concerns that this episode could start
a domino effect and other countries could also face problems
with financing."
DUBAI
Financial markets shuddered last week after Dubai said it
would ask creditors of state-owned Dubai World and Nakheel, the
builder of its palm-shaped islands, for a standstill pact as a
first step toward restructuring billions of dollars of debt.
[].
But confirmation from Abu Dhabi that it would extend some
help to Dubai, as well as moves by the United Arab Emirates to
offer emergency assistance to banks in Dubai, helped calm some
market concerns. [] []
Asian stocks made a tentative recovery after last week's
steep sell-off over the Dubai debt crisis. []
The dollar edged down against other major currencies on
Monday, with the dollar index <.DXY> falling 0.5 percent against
a basket of currencies.
The dollar and developments in Dubai will be key factors in
driving the direction of oil prices this week, analysts said.
Oil is up more than 70 percent this year, but is still
roughly half its July 2008 high of more than $147 a barrel.
Sentiment is on edge and analysts said there could be
another round of corrections in equities and commodities markets
if Dubai were not able to resolve its debt problems.
Implied volatility on U.S. crude futures <CLATMIV>, a
measure of risk perception based on options, rose by 15 percent
on Friday, the steepest jump since October 2008.
Separately, Iran announced plans on Sunday to build 10 new
uranium enrichment plants in a major expansion of its atomic
programme, just two days after the U.N. nuclear watchdog rebuked
it for carrying out such work in secret. []
(Reporting by Christopher Johnson in London and Fayen Wong in
Perth; editing by Anthony Barker)
((christopher.johnson@thomsonreuters.com; +44 207 542 6056;
Reuters Messaging: christopher.johnson.reuters.com@reuters.net))
