Oil bounces after fall, U.S. cold spell relents

SINGAPORE, Feb 20 (Reuters) Oil prices ticked higher on Tuesday after dropping 1 percent a day earlier as traders were torn between supply anxieties in Nigeria and the looming end of winter oil demand in top consumer the United States.

London Brent crude rose 31 cents to .45 a barrel by 0230 GMT, remaining mired in the roughly - price rut that has defined prices since the start of the month.

U.S. light, sweet crude also recovered some of Monday's losses, trading at .67 a barrel on the Globex electronic platform. The contract, which expires at the end of the day, was 72 cents lower than Friday's closing price.

The New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) did not issue a settlement price on Monday as its trading floor was closed for the Presidents Day holiday.

Although warnings of fresh violence in the Niger Delta have raised new fears over crude supplies from Africa's top producer, dealers said the approaching end of peak demand in the northern hemisphere was tempering any move higher.

''The cold in the U.S. Northeast, which had been supporting prices, is looking to ease this week,'' said Ken Hasegawa, manager at commodities futures broker Himawari CX in Tokyo.

''So the upward pressure on price will ease to some extent, with more room for downside.'' Energy demand in the U.S. Northeast will be near to below normal for the rest of this week, forecaster DTN Meteorlogix said on Monday.

And temperatures will remain warmer than usual in most of the United States through March, capping an overall mild winter season, private forecaster WSI Corp. said on Monday.

The kidnapping of three more foreign oil workers in Nigerian oil city Port Harcourt kept traders on edge after a U.S. consulate warned last week that militants were planning to extend their actions outside the delta region.

Oil output from the OPEC member is already down a fifth due to the violence, which analysts fear may intensify in the run-up to a presidential election in April.

Iran's pursuit of nuclear power also continues to hang over markets and may come back to the fore this week as the U.N.'s nuclear body is due to deliver a report that could expose Tehran to broader sanctions.

Later on Tuesday Iran's security council chief, Ali Larijani, will meet IAEA director Mohamed ElBaradei, whose report to the Security Council is expected to confirm that Tehran has defied a 60-day council deadline to stop enriching uranium.

Oil traders fear further sanctions could prompt Tehran to curb or cut its own oil exports, or attempt to disrupt Gulf shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, through which an estimated one-fifth of the world's crude travels.

Until then, however, oil's recovery from a 20-month low of .90 a barrel just a month ago has met with the approval of many in OPEC, who say the cartel will leave output unchanged when it meets on March 15 if prices hold.

REUTERS CS KN1108