Oil rises to top $115 on technical rebound

By Fayen Wong

PERTH (Reuters) - Oil rose by more than $1 to top $115 a barrel on Monday, despite a rising U.S. dollar, as traders saw buying opportunities after prices fell over $6 in the previous session.

Analysts said Russia's withdrawal of the bulk of its troops from Georgia on Friday was also bearish for the market, but tensions between the United States and Russia, the world's second-biggest oil producer, would continue to lend support to prices until Moscow withdraws its troops completely.

U.S. light crude for October delivery rose 40 cents to $114.99 a barrel by 0817 GMT, after rising as much as $1.08 to $115.67.

The contract fell $6.59, or 5.4 percent, to settle at $114.59 a barrel on Friday -- the biggest one-day fall in percentage terms since December 27, 2004.

London Brent crude rose 58 cents to $114.50 on Monday.

Oil has fallen about 22 percent since its peak of above $147 struck mid-July on concerns high energy costs are taking a toll on global fuel demand.

"I think prices rose because of a technical rebound. Some market participants are obviously seeing buying opportunities after Friday's sharp fall," said Mark Pervan, a senior commodities analyst at the Australian & New Zealand (ANZ) bank in Sydney.

Russia, which began to pull out the bulk of its forces from Georgia last week, said on Saturday its troops would patrol one of Georgia's main Black Sea ports, defying Western demands for a complete pullback to positions held before fighting broke out over a Georgian rebel region.

The easing of Tropical Storm Fay, which poured rain along the U.S. Gulf Coast on Sunday local time, also diminished concerns the storm might disrupt oil and natural gas production at the Gulf of Mexico production areas.

Energy companies, including Chevron Corp, ExxonMobil Corp N> , BP Plc, ConocoPhillips and Royal Dutch Shell said they were keeping track of the storm but their operations were not affected.

The U.S. dollar rose to a two-year high against sterling on Monday after data last week showed Britain's economy was stalling, prompting expectations of an interest rate cut by the Bank of England.

Oil's sharp fall on Friday was prompted by a strengthening U.S. dollar and reports that showed an uptick in OPEC crude oil output and an expected decline in U.S. travel over the September 1 Labor Day holiday weekend.

Industry consultant Petrologistics said on Friday OPEC oil output was expected to rise in August by 450,000 barrels per day, to 32.95 million bpd, a factor that could further beef up inventory levels in consumer nations. The U.S. auto and travel group AAA said Labor Day holiday travel was expected to fall this year by the largest amount in at least eight years as consumers struggle with higher gasoline prices and airfares.

(Reporting by Fayen Wong; Editing by Michael Urquhart)