OIL PRICE: NOT ABOVE $63 AGAIN

REUTERS, BLOOMBERG  - Oil prices dipped on Friday, weighed down by a strengthening U.S. dollar, although China's relentless thirst for crude and OPEC-led supply cuts prevented further falls.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $56.58 a barrel at 0714 GMT, down 11 cents, or 0.2 percent from their last settlement.

Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil prices, were down 8 cents, or 0.1 percent, at $62.12 a barrel.

Traders said a stronger dollar, which has gained over 0.9 percent this month against a basket of other leading currencies, was weighing on prices.

A rising greenback attracts financial traders who switch investments between commodity futures and foreign exchange.

"A strong U.S. dollar could act as a headwind to commodities," Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BoAML) said in its 2018 outlook.

Preventing prices from sliding further was booming oil demand from China, which will this year overtake the United States as the world's biggest crude importer.

China's crude oil imports rose to 37.04 million tonnes in November, or 9.01 million barrels per day (bpd), the second highest on record, data from the General Administration of Customs showed on Friday.

"China's crude oil imports will continue to rise over the coming years, as output declines from several of its giant onshore fields... This will inevitably see China become more reliant on crude oil imports over our forecast period, with import dependency set to increase from a record 68.0 percent in 2017 to nearly 80 percent by 2021," BMI Research said.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch, meanwhile, said healthy global demand and tight supplies should see Brent crude oil rise to $70 per barrel by mid-year.

U.S. investment bank Jefferies said it expects 2018 global oil demand growth of 1.5 million bpd, driven by near 10 percent demand growth in China.

On the supply side, oil prices have been receiving support from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and a group of non-OPEC producers, most importantly Russia, which has been withholding supplies to tighten the market.

Largely because of these voluntary production cuts, oil prices rose sharply between June and October, with Brent gaining around 40 percent in value.

Threatening to undermine OPEC's goal to tighten markets is U.S. oil production, which has risen by more than 15 percent since mid-2016 to 9.7 million barrels per day (bpd), the highest level since the early 1970s and close to the output of top producers Russia and Saudi Arabia.

The EIA monthly data on US crude production published Nov. 30 was also somewhat bearish.

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Earlier:

2017, December, 4, 23:20:00 OIL PRICE: NOT ABOVE $64 YET BLOOMBERG - West Texas Intermediate for January delivery was at $57.93 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 2:02 p.m. in Seoul, down 43 cents. The contract gained 96 cents to settle at $58.36 on Friday. Total volume traded was about 21 percent below the 100-day average. Brent for February settlement dropped 36 cents to $63.37 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. Prices added $1.10, or 1.8 percent, to close at $63.73 on Friday. The global benchmark crude was at a premium of $5.43 to February WTI.

2017, December, 4, 23:15:00 СОТРУДНИЧЕСТВО С ОПЕК МИНЭНЕРГО РОССИИ - ОПЕК оставляет в силе решения, принятые 30 ноября 2017 года; в «Декларацию о сотрудничестве» вносится поправка, согласно которой ее срок действия охватывает весь 2018 год с января по декабрь 2018 года, при этом входящие и участвующие в кооперации не входящие в ОПЕК страны обязуются обеспечить полное и своевременное исполнение условий «Декларации о сотрудничестве» и скорректировать объемы добычи в соответствии с достигнутыми на добровольной основе договоренностями.

December, 2, 18:54:00 OPEC CONFIRMED OPEC - In agreeing to this decision, Member Countries confirmed their continued focus on a stable and balanced oil market, in the interests of both producers and consumers. Member Countries remain committed to being dependable and reliable suppliers of crude and products to global markets.

December, 1, 13:05:00 OIL PRICE: NOT ABOVE $64 BLOOMBERG - West Texas Intermediate for January delivery was at $57.72 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up 32 cents, at 7:50 a.m. in London. Total volume traded was about 16 percent below the 100-day average. Prices rose 10 cents to $57.40 on Thursday, capping a 5.6 percent gain for November. Brent for February settlement climbed 43 cents to $63.06 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The January contract expired Thursday after adding 46 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $63.57. The global benchmark crude was at a premium of $5.32 to February WTI.

December, 1, 13:00:00 СОГЛАШЕНИЕ: МЕНЬШЕ НЕФТИ МИНЭНЕРГО РОССИИ - «Мы успешно и конструктивно провели переговоры по продлению сделки. Мы удовлетворены результатами балансировки рынка, сокращением излишков нефти и нефтепродуктов, снижением волатильности цен, а также возврату инвестиционной активности в отрасли. В тоже время мы также единодушно подтвердили то, что мы находимся лишь в середине пути, и для того, чтобы достичь окончательной цели по балансировке рынка, нам нужно продолжить совместные усилия».

December, 1, 12:50:00 OPEC & RUSSIA CUTS BLOOMBERG - OPEC and its allies outside the group agreed to maintain oil production cuts until the end of 2018, extending their campaign to wrest back control of the global market from America’s shale industry.

October, 11, 12:50:00 OIL PRICES 2020: $50 - $60 Based on a “lower-for-longer” base-case scenario, global oil prices will remain in the $50-60/bbl range until late 2020, due to increasing supply that breaks even at $50/bbl, according to to the most recent global oil supply and demand outlook from McKinsey Energy Insights (MEI).