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* Dollar hits 7-month high on expected interest rate hike
* Record OPEC output, economic slowdown also weigh on markets
* Bernstein Energy cuts oil price outlook for 2017, 2018
(Updates throughout, adds comment, changes dateline from Singapore)
By Ahmad Ghaddar
LONDON, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Oil prices edged lower on Monday, pulled down by a rising rig count in the United States and a strong dollar but expectations of an OPEC intervention next month to curb production gave them a floor.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures were trading at $50.18 per barrel at 0958 GMT, down 17 cents from their last settlement, and after hitting a session low of $49.94 a barrel.
International benchmark Brent crude oil futures
LCOc1
eased 7 cents to $51.88 per barrel, after falling to as low as $51.56 a barrel earlier.
Traders said that WTI was under pressure from a report on Friday by oil services provider Baker Hughes showed U.S. drillers added four rigs in the week to Oct. 14. It was the 16th week in a row that oil drillers had gone without making cuts, indicating more production to come.
RIG/U
A firmer dollar also weighed on prices, as an expected hike in U.S. interest rates later this year drove the U.S. currency to a seven-month high against a basket of currencies. The index was trading near flat at 97.998 at 0951 GMT.
Dollar-traded oil becomes more expensive for holders of other currencies when the greenback strengthens, potentially limiting demand.
But analysts said that the market is fundamentally supported by expectations that members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) would take action to support prices at their meeting in Vienna on November 30.
"It's very hard for the Brent crude price to sell below the $50 a barrel market ahead of the November 30 meeting," said Bjarne Schieldrop, chief commodities analyst at SEB.
He said that OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia sent a very clear statement about working to curb production and support higher prices, but added that an oversupplied physical crude market was capping further gains in prices.
OPEC pumped out a record 33.6 million barrels of crude oil per day in September
PRODN-TOTAL
.
"Record supply from OPEC year-to-date, weaker global GDP estimates, and still elevated inventories cause us to lower and flatten our oil price outlook," Bernstein Energy said in a note to clients on Monday.
"We reduce our Brent forecast to $60 per barrel in 2017 ($70 per barrel before) and $70 per barrel in 2018 ($80 per barrel before)," it added. (Additional reporting by Henning Gloystein in Singapore, editing by William Hardy) ((Ahmad.Ghaddar@thomsonreuters.com; +442075424435; Reuters Messaging: ahmad.ghaddar.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
* Record OPEC output, economic slowdown also weigh on markets
* Bernstein Energy cuts oil price outlook for 2017, 2018
(Updates throughout, adds comment, changes dateline from Singapore)
By Ahmad Ghaddar
LONDON, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Oil prices edged lower on Monday, pulled down by a rising rig count in the United States and a strong dollar but expectations of an OPEC intervention next month to curb production gave them a floor.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures were trading at $50.18 per barrel at 0958 GMT, down 17 cents from their last settlement, and after hitting a session low of $49.94 a barrel.
International benchmark Brent crude oil futures
Traders said that WTI was under pressure from a report on Friday by oil services provider Baker Hughes showed U.S. drillers added four rigs in the week to Oct. 14. It was the 16th week in a row that oil drillers had gone without making cuts, indicating more production to come.
A firmer dollar also weighed on prices, as an expected hike in U.S. interest rates later this year drove the U.S. currency to a seven-month high against a basket of currencies. The index was trading near flat at 97.998 at 0951 GMT.
Dollar-traded oil becomes more expensive for holders of other currencies when the greenback strengthens, potentially limiting demand.
But analysts said that the market is fundamentally supported by expectations that members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) would take action to support prices at their meeting in Vienna on November 30.
"It's very hard for the Brent crude price to sell below the $50 a barrel market ahead of the November 30 meeting," said Bjarne Schieldrop, chief commodities analyst at SEB.
He said that OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia sent a very clear statement about working to curb production and support higher prices, but added that an oversupplied physical crude market was capping further gains in prices.
OPEC pumped out a record 33.6 million barrels of crude oil per day in September
"Record supply from OPEC year-to-date, weaker global GDP estimates, and still elevated inventories cause us to lower and flatten our oil price outlook," Bernstein Energy said in a note to clients on Monday.
"We reduce our Brent forecast to $60 per barrel in 2017 ($70 per barrel before) and $70 per barrel in 2018 ($80 per barrel before)," it added. (Additional reporting by Henning Gloystein in Singapore, editing by William Hardy) ((Ahmad.Ghaddar@thomsonreuters.com; +442075424435; Reuters Messaging: ahmad.ghaddar.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
