ICE Brent pauses near $78 as storm subsides

LONDON, Nov 10 (Reuters) - ICE Brent crude held near $78 a
barrel after jumping nearly $2 on Monday on news Tropical Storm
Ida shut a portion of oil production in the U.S. Gulf.

The storm was weakening on Tuesday and analysts identified
further falls in the U.S. dollar as the factor most likely to
push prices back up towards 12-month highs seen at the end of
October.

But a failure to breach this level in the next few days
could send a negative signal to the market, analysts said.

"For it to become a bigger-picture bullish skew, we need to
see a bust through $80.26 (the 12-month high) sooner rather than
later," said Futures Tech analyst Clive Lambert.

"Things have been stuck in this $5 range for a while now;
getting on for a month in fact."

BRENT PRICES

* December Brent was down 2 cents at $77.75 a barrel by 1253
GMT.

* The December/January Brent spread was 79 cents.

* December Brent traded at a discount of $1.54 per barrel to
December U.S. crude oil futures CLc1.

GAS OIL PRICES

* November gas oil LGOc1 was down 75 cents at $628.25 a
tonne.

* The November/December gas oil spread was minus $9.25 a
tonne.

TECHNICALS

* Brent support seen at $76.50, resistance at $80.10.

* Gas oil support seen at $605, resistance at $652.50.

OTHER MARKETS

* European shares rose for a fifth straight session on
Tuesday [.EU]

* The dollar's trade-weighted index hovered near a 15-month
low on Tuesday on the view U.S. interest rates will stay low.
[USD/]

FUNDAMENTALS

* A weakening Tropical Storm Ida brought drenching rain to
the U.S. Gulf Coast as it slowly approached shore on Tuesday
after shutting down almost 30 percent of Gulf energy production.
[ID:nLA627057]

* World energy use will rise rapidly over the next 20 years,
increasing costs and greenhouse gases unless a deal is reached
to curb carbon dioxide emissions, the International Energy
Agency (IEA) said on Tuesday. [ID:nLA647447]

* China's appetite for oil will accelerate in 2010, an
executive with top Asian refiner Sinopec Corp (0386.HK)
(600028.SS) said on Tuesday, suggesting rising need for imports
ahead by the world's second largest oil user. [ID:nPEK299749]

DATA/EVENTS

* Weekly U.S. chain store sales at 1245 GMT

* American Petroleum Institute weekly inventory data at 2130
GMT.

(Reporting by Emma Farge; editing by Keiron Henderson)