By Hadeel Al Shalchi

  TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Protests at western Libya's main oil refinery closed operations on Thursday for a second time this month, a company spokesman said, raising concerns of a gasoline shortage in the capital.

  Essam al-Muntasir, of the Zawiya Oil Refining Company, said many wounded veterans of the civil war which ousted Muammar Gaddafi last year were demonstrating in front of the plant.

  " We are in a state of total shut down at the refinery," he said.

  " The demonstrators are preventing employees from entering the refinery and fuel trucks are unable to leave the refinery."

  A similar protest in early November caused the refinery to shut down for two days, leading to fuel shortages in Tripoli.

  Deputy Oil Minister Omar Shakmak said on Wednesday that a shut down at the refinery could cause a new shortage.

  " We have enough fuel stored in Tripoli to last us 25 days but the problem is that protesters are not allowing trucks in or out of the fuel storage areas of the refinery, which could cause a shortage," he said.

  Tripoli residents formed long queues at petrol stations to fill up their tanks on Wednesday night as they anticipated a possible shortage.

  The Zawiya refinery, about 50 km (30 miles) west of Tripoli, has a capacity of 120,000 barrels per day and provides 40 per cent of western Libya's oil needs.

  (Reporting by Hadeel Al-Shalchi Editing by Robin Pomeroy)

By Fred Barbash

  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, President Barack Obama's chief negotiator in talks to avert the " fiscal cliff," will meet with Congressional leaders on Thursday amid signs that the market-rattling uncertainty about the outcome could go down to the wire.

  " It is not going to happen soon," Republican Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming, the Senate's fourth-ranking Republican, said in a Fox Business News interview Wednesday evening of an agreement to avoid the tax hikes and spending cuts that will be triggered on January 1 without an act of Congress.

  " I think right now" it's " a little bit of a standoff," Sen. John Thune, the third-ranking Republican in the Democratic- controlled Senate, told CNN late Wednesday.

  The announced schedule of Geithner's meetings Thursday suggested relatively contained chats with Republicans rather than intensive negotiations.

  The Treasury Secretary, accompanied by Obama's top legislative aide, Ron Nabors, is set to meet first with Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid at about 10 a.m. EST followed 45 minutes later by a session with Republican leaders of the House of Representatives, including Speaker John A. Boehner, Majority Leader Eric Cantor, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, fresh off his Republican vice-presidential campaign, and the chairman of the House's tax writing Ways and Means Committee, Dave Camp.

  The president's emissaries will lunch with Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell followed by a meeting with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.

  At immediate issue is whether the tax cuts that originated in the administration of President George W. Bush should be extended beyond December 31 for all taxpayers including the affluent, as Republicans want, or just for less wealthy taxpayers, with income under $250,000, as Democratic President Obama wants.

  Despite a few cracks in Republican ranks, most notably from Republican Representative Tom Cole of Oklahoma, neither side has budged significantly from its position, leaving the markets and political analysts alike to grasp at wording nuances.

  It's become clear during the post-election lame-duck session of Congress that until the two sides get over the immediate tax issue, they will not move forward to serious discussions on longer-term deficit reduction and tax reform, though both have expressed interest in doing so.

  Keeping the nation in suspense down to a white-knuckled deadline has become the rule rather than the exception for Congress in recent years.

  Whether the risk has been a government shutdown or, as in the events that led to the fiscal cliff, default for failure to raise the U.S. government's borrowing power, Republicans and Democrats have needed the pressure of time and possible disaster to bring them together.

  The last standoff, over the debt ceiling in 2011, was settled by scheduling across-the-board automatic-budget cuts of about $500 billion - the sequestration part of the fiscal cliff - to take effect just as the tax cuts expire.

  While little visible progress has been made on either element of the cliff, Congress could make quick work of it once a deal is reached, as no elaborate legislation is necessarily required just to get passed the twin deadlines.

  Once " off that fiscal cliff," said Thune, " and we're on to the New Year and the markets will be happy. And the people will smile."

  (Editing by Eric Walsh)

* ONGC may fund deal through parent loan, overseas borrowing

  * No decision yet whether to bring oil to India or sell on spot mkt

  * Kashagan partners have right of first refusal on stake

  * Inpex declines comment, Kazakh minister says will review

  * ONGC shares flat on Tuesday

  By Nidhi Verma

  NEW DELHI, Nov 27 (Reuters) - ConocoPhillips' partners in Kazakhstan's Kashagan field, the biggest oilfield discovery in over four decades, have 60 days to decide whether they want an 8.4 percent stake in the project promised to India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp.

  ConocoPhillips says it intends to sell its Kashagan stake to ONGC Videsh, the Indian group's overseas investment arm, for about $5 billion. But existing partners in the Kashagan project - state-run KazMunaiGas, Italy's Eni, ExxonMobil, Inpex Corp of Japan, Royal Dutch Shell and France's Total - have the right of first refusal on the stake.

  ONGC Videsh Managing Director D.K. Sarraf told Reuters the Kazakhstan government has six months to approve the deal after the expiry of a 60-day period for partners to exercise their pre-emption rights.

  " The deal has to be approved within 240 days," he said.

  Kashagan holds an estimated 30 billion barrels of oil-in-place, of which 8-12 billion are potentially recoverable. Start-up of the field has been delayed since 2005 due to cost overruns and disputes with authorities over taxes. First production is expected next year.

  REVIEW COMMISSION

  Kazakhstan has first refusal on the stake, and a commission that reviews major deals could take up to two months to decide whether to buy, as well as consider the energy and economic security issues, Oil and Gas Minister Sauat Mynbayev told reporters in the Kazakh capital Astana.

  KazMunaiGas was not immediately available to comment. Last month, Chief Executive Lyazzat Kiinov said the state company would be interested in principle in acquiring the stake. His deputy, Daniyar Berlibayev, said much would depend on the cost.

  " We, as the national company, wouldn't refuse the idea of increasing our share. How we might finance this is another question," Berlibayev told Reuters on Oct. 2.

  KazMunaiGas has bought stakes from consortium members in the past, entering in 2005 by purchasing half of BG Group's 16.7 percent stake when that was put up for sale. Three years later, it bought around another 8.4 percent from consortium members.

  Analysts said Shell and Exxon were unlikely to want to exercise their right of first refusal because of the ongoing problems at the project. Inpex, Japan's biggest energy explorer, which has a 7.56 percent stake in Kashagan, said it couldn't comment on the move by ONGC or whether it was offered the stake by ConocoPhillips.

  SPOT SALES ARE AN OPTION

  With ONGC's domestic output flat for years, India now buys nearly 80 percent of its oil needs and is the world's fourth-biggest oil importer. It is under pressure from the government to meet rising demand.

  " We can bring it (the oil) to India, and other options are also there. There is a CPC pipeline and some pipelines are coming from Russia," Sarraf said, referring to the Caspian Pipeline Consortium facility. " We will look at all options, including selling it on spot markets."

  ONGC has a 20 percent stake in Russia's Sakhalin-1 project, operated by ExxonMobil, and normally sells its equity oil through spot tenders.

  The acquisition would likely add 1 million tonnes (20,000 barrels per day) to ONGC Videsh's annual production over 25 years, with its share of output significantly higher in later stages of development.

  " We have a target of 20 million tonnes of oil and gas production by 2017-18 and 60 million tonnes by 2029-30, and today our production is less than 9 million tonnes. This would help us bridge the gap to an extent and help in energy security," Sarraf said.

  ConocoPhillips, which has been shedding overseas assets to cut debt and increase its investment in lower-cost domestic shale oil and gas, said on Monday the book value of assets related to its Kashagan interest was about $5.5 billion as of end-September, and it would take an after-tax impairment of about $400 million.

  Sarraf said a deal may be funded through a mix of loans from ONGC and overseas borrowings. " We have yet to finalise the funding plan," he said.

  ONGC Videsh, which holds a 25 percent share in the Satpayev block in Kazakhstan, owns stakes in assets in more than a dozen countries - including Myanmar, Vietnam, Sudan, South Sudan, Russia, Azerbaijan, Syria, Libya, Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela.

  ONGC shares, valued at more than $38 billion, traded down 0.4 percent on Tuesday at 249 rupees.

* HSI -0.1 pct, H-shares -0.4 pct, CSI300 -1.2 pct

  * Shanghai Composite closes below 2,000 pts, 1st time since Jan 2009

  * Sany at lowest since Oct 2010, shrugs off industrial profits data

  * CRE at 6-mth high on reported interest in Carrefour

  By Clement Tan and Vikram Subhedar

  HONG KONG, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Onshore Chinese shares fell for a third-straight day, reversing midday gains in Hong Kong after the Shanghai share index closed below 2,000 points for the first time in nearly four years on concern that stricter capital rules for banks may hurt lending.

  The state-run China Securities Journal newspaper reported that Basel III requirements could raise the capital adequacy ratio at the country's six biggest banks by up to 50 basis points, potentially limiting their capacity to lend and support growth in the world's No.2 economy.

  The Hang Seng Index ended down 0.1 percent, while the China Enterprises Index of the top Chinese listings in Hong Kong shed 0.4 percent, both reversing midday gains.

  In the mainland, the CSI300 Index of the top Shanghai and Shenzhen listings shed 1.2 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index ended down 1.3 percent at 1,991.2, the first time it closed below 2,000 points since January 2009.

  Over the month, the Shanghai Composite has lost 3.8 percent, while the CSI300 is down 4.6 percent, compared with the China Enterprises Index's 0.5 percent loss.

  " This divergence between A and H share performance will continue at least until the year's end. There is a long list of A-share IPOs waiting for approval and that's not going to impress investors," said Larry Jiang, chief strategist at Guotai Junan International Securities.

  The Hang Seng Index A/H premium index opened at 95.8, its lowest intra-day level since June last year, but ended at 96.5. It has closed below 100 on all but two sessions since mid-October, suggesting the premium that onshore shares once traded over their offshore peers has been wiped out.

  Turnover in Shanghai jumped 24 percent from Monday, while Hong Kong improved only slightly, still some 7 percent below its average in the past month.

  Speculation in the market that the amount of lockups expiring in December could double from November weighed on the A-share market, according to Hong Kong-based traders at a major American brokerage.

  They added that steep losses in small-cap names listed in the mainland worsened on fears that prospective listings could suffer from profit declines after failing to impress in pre-listing marketing. The CSI500 Index dived 3.6 percent.

  INDUSTRIAL COUNTERS

  On Tuesday, industrial counters were weak in the mainland despite official data from the National Bureau of Statistics showing Chinese industrials returning to profit growth in October.

  Shanghai-listed Sany Heavy Industry slid 3.1 percent to its lowest in more than two years. It is set for a second-straight annual loss, down 33.6 percent, compared to the 9.5 percent loss on the Shanghai Composite and 8.3 percent loss on the CSI300.

  China Rongsheng tumbled 6.7 percent to its lowest close in a month after the company said that its chairman had stepped down just three months after the company posted its sharpest fall in half-year net profit.

  Over the past month, analysts have cut forward 12-month earnings forecasts for MSCI China industrials by 2.7 percent, the sixth straight month of cuts, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

  Investors will be looking at China's annual Central Economic Work Conference, which is typically held in mid-December, for clues on the tone of economic policies in 2013.

  The China Securities Journal also reported on Tuesday that China is likely to target growth of 7 to 7.5 percent and will remain prudent on monetary policy -- denting hopes for more aggressive policy easing.

  The Chinese banking sector ended broadly weaker in Hong Kong, but reversed early losses in the mainland. Bank of China slipped 0.3 percent in Hong Kong but edged up 0.4 percent in Shanghai.

  China Resources Enterprises (CRE) led percentage gains among Hang Seng Index components, rising 2.8 percent to a six-month high on media reports that it plans to purchase a stake in French retailer Carrefour SA.

  The Macau casino sector was broadly stronger on hopes of a similar special dividend payout after Las Vegas Sands, parent of Sands China, approved a $2.75 per share special dividend.

  Sands China was up 1.8 percent, while MGM China jumped 3.4 percent.

By Harry Papachristou

  ATHENS, Nov 27 (Reuters) - A bleary-eyed Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras welcomed on Tuesday an agreement by international lenders to help cut his country's debt and unblock bailout money to avert bankruptcy.

  The biggest opposition party, however, dismissed the deal and criticized Germany for preventing Greece from writing off more of its 340-billion-euro debt.

  After 12 hours of talks at their third meeting in as many weeks, euro zone finance ministers and the International Monetary Fund agreed on measures to reduce Greek debt by 40 billion euros ($52 billion), opening the way for 43.7 billion euros of rescue loans to be disbursed by early 2013.

  " Everything went well," Samaras told reporters outside the prime minister's mansion at about 3 a.m. in the morning.

  " Tomorrow, a new day starts for all Greeks," he added.

  International financial markets shared the optimism as worries over Greece's debt situation subsided. The euro hit a one-month high, and European stocks rose 0.5 percent by 0853 GMT.

  Samaras passed deeply unpopular austerity measures earlier this month to convince lenders that Athens deserved further aid payments under its ongoing EU/IMF bailout, despite missing earlier deficit and reform targets.

  The wage and spending cuts contradicted Samaras's pre-election pledges to soften the bailout deal, testing the cohesion of the fragile, conservative-led, three-party coalition he has headed since June.

  The Socialist PASOK, the coalition's second-biggest party, also welcomed the agreement.

  " This is the new start the country needs after nine months of waiting," said its leader and former finance minister Evangelos Venizelos. " Now it's up to us to make it work."

  Greece's main stock market index also rose on the news, gaining 0.9 percent. But bank stocks dipped 0.6 percent on concerns that a debt buyback plan that forms part of the deal might hurt their battered capital.

  Greece's anti-bailout opposition dismissed the agreement altogether, saying it fell short of what was needed to make the country's debt sustainable.

  " It's a half-baked compromise, a band-aid on the gaping wound ofdebt," said Dimitris Papadimoulis, senior lawmaker of the radical leftist Syriza party, the biggest opposition party which is leading in the polls.

  Papadimoulis said German Chancellor Angela Merkel was standing in the way of a 50 percent write-off of Greece's debt, saying that was what Athens needed.

  " (The deal happened) under pressure from the narrow-minded, egoistic, short-sighted economic policies of Merkel, who stingily watches over her money," he said.

  Greek newspapers were equally split about the deal. Greece's top-selling daily Ta Nea depicted on its front page a smiley face next to the headline: " The first smile for Greece" after the country obtained a further 43.7 billion euros in aid.

  But Six Days, another daily, called the deal " a disastrous compromise ... holding Greece captive to severe recession and austerity without solving the country's big debt problem" .

* FTSEurofirst 300 up 0.6 percent

  * Banks up on Greek news RBS aided by UBS upgrade

  By Tricia Wright

  LONDON, Nov 27 (Reuters) - European stocks rose on Tuesday, recovering from weakness in the previous session after international lenders agreed to reduce Greece's debt, paving the way for the next disbursement of aid.

  The accord, reached by the lenders late on Monday, will cut Greek debt by 40 billion euros, bringing it down to 124 percent of gross domestic product by 2020.

  The FTSEurofirst 300 was 0.6 percent higher at 1,111.23 by 0919 GMT, having dipped 0.5 percent on Monday following a five-session winning streak.

  Traders, however, were doubtful as to the sustainability of any meaningful market gains, perceiving the deal to be a short-term fix.

  " What we've averted here is the likelihood of a Greek default in the short term. I don't think it's taken it off the table in the long term," Michael Hewson, senior markets analyst at CMC Markets, said.

  " We're still in the broad range in European markets and I don't think this really changes anything with respect to that ... The outlook for growth in Europe still remains fairly weak."

  Banks were the top risers in a broad-based rally as investors drew strength from the Greek debt deal news.

  A 4-percent advance put Royal Bank of Scotland near to the top of the FTSEurofirst 300 leader board, with the part-state-owned lender also boosted by a UBS upgrade to " buy" .

  But even with the Greek problem ironed over for now, investors remain concerned by the threat of the U.S. 'fiscal cliff' of automatic tax increases and government spending cuts set to come into force in early 2013.

  The euro zone's blue-chip Euro STOXX 50, which lurched 5.3 percent higher last week, its best week since early December, climbed 0.7 percent to 2,561.04, erasing all of Monday's drop.

  Phil Roberts, chief European technical strategist at Barclays Capital, said the index's 200-week moving average, at 2,585, is the main barrier to further gains, with the index having tested this level three times in as many months.

  " To generate more upside potential we need a close above there, but even still I'm not so sure that the market would race away," he said.

* New Greek debt target greeted with cautious optimism

  * Uncertainty over U.S. budget negotiations weighs

  * Coming Up: API weekly crude stocks 2130 GMT (Updates prices)

  By Luke Pachymuthu

  SINGAPORE, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Brent crude rose above $111 per barrel on Tuesday as optimism coursed through financial markets after Greece's international lenders reached a deal on a new debt target, although worries about a looming U.S. fiscal crisis kept a lid on gains.

  The euro hit a one-month high and Asian shares climbed for a seventh straight day after euro zone finance ministers and the International Monetary Fund agreed on a package of measures to reduce Greek debt needed to release another tranche of loans to the near-bankrupt economy.

  Brent crude was up 29 cents at $111.21 a barrel by 0716 GMT and U.S. crude gained 37 cents to $88.11, following losses on Monday.

  Oil prices were also supported by a softer dollar, which makes commodities priced in the greenback cheaper for holders of other currencies.

  But traders cautioned that price gains may be checked as the longer-term outlook for Europe remained uncertain.

  " Markets for now are pricing in that Greece will be refunded, but there are structural problems about the euro zone that needs fixing," said Ben Taylor, sales trader at CMC Markets in Sydney.

  " It's amazing how (Europe) keeps finding ways to buy themselves more time. They've simply kicked the can down the road for the moment."

  FISCAL CLIFF

  Market attention is now expected to focus on the fiscal policy standoff in the United States. A lack of progress on that front will muddy the outlook for demand from the United States, the world's top oil consumer.

  Republicans in the U.S. Congress on Monday called on President Barack Obama to detail long-term spending cuts to help solve the country's fiscal crisis, while holding firm against the income tax rate increases for the wealthy that Democrats seek.

  While Congress returned from its Thanksgiving holiday break amid increasing talk about long-term tax reform plans and a need to compromise, the two parties showed no signs yet of having found a way around the short-term tax obstacle necessary to head off the fiscal cliff on Dec. 31.

  " If we do hit the fiscal cliff, the U.S. will dip back into a recession which is not good for anyone," Taylor said.

  The fiscal cliff's approximately $600 billion in tax hikes and spending cuts that would begin in 2013 would push the U.S. economy back into recession, according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office.

  " We do see markets, at least for now still pricing in some kind of agreement to take place before the end of the year, but we're going to have to see compromise from both parties."

  SUPPLY CONCERNS

  The oil market is also keeping an eye on the political crisis in Egypt that has triggered worries about supply.

  Opponents of Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi will press ahead with a protest on Tuesday to demand the scrapping of a decree extending his powers, rejecting the Islamist's attempt to defuse a crisis that has brought violence back to Cairo's streets.

  Mursi was accused of giving himself the powers of a modern-day pharaoh when he issued the decree last week that prevents legal challenges to any decision he takes until a new parliament is elected.

  News that OPEC member Nigeria is expected to see oil exports drop to 1.98 million barrels per day in January from a planned 2.12 million bpd in December also supported crude.

  Traders are now waiting for weekly U.S. inventory data due out on Tuesday and Wednesday. Analysts forecast a build in crude and refined product stockpiles for the week to Nov. 23. (Editing by Himani Sarkar)

* " Fiscal cliff" worries trump robust weekend sales

  * Decker, Abercrombie shares up

  * Holiday season still has weeks to go

  By Martinne Geller

  NEW YORK, Nov 26 (Reuters) - U.S. retail stocks were off to a weak start on Monday as questions about the strength of consumer spending and fears about the " fiscal cliff" overshadowed an apparently strong Black Friday kickoff to the holiday shopping season.

  Shares of Wal-Mart Stores Inc and Macy's Inc, which analysts said did well over the weekend, were down because investors see those stocks as proxies for the overall economy, given the wide breadth of the retailers' customer bases, said Morningstar analyst Paul Swinand.

  The Standard & Poor's 500 Retail index was down 0.8 percent in morning trading.

  The broader S& P 500 fell 0.7 percent as investors focused on the meeting of euro zone finance ministers on Greece and negotiations over the U.S. fiscal cliff after last week's rally.

  Among retailers, standouts included Deckers Outdoor Corp , whose shares rose 5.2 percent to $34.83. Wedbush Securities raised its price target on Deckers to $40 from $38, saying cooler weather over the weekend had helped stimulate sales of the company's Ugg boots.

  Abercrombie & Fitch Co's shares were up 1.3 percent. The company, which operates the Hollister chain in addition to its namesake stores, " was the clear winner," with the longest lines and units per transaction during the weekend, according to Oppenheimer analyst Pamela Quintiliano.

  Aeropostale shares fell 7.3 percent after the stock was downgraded by Janney Capital Markets analyst Adrienne Tennant, who cited increased competition from Abercrombie and American Eagle Outfitters Inc.

  Abercrombie joins Wal-Mart as some of the weekend's perceived winners in a four-day weekend when some stores opened on Thanksgiving night and people shopped online in greater numbers than ever before.

  Analysts said the Walmart chain had done a good job pairing physical stores with its online and mobile capabilities, making for a seamless shopping experience.

  The National Retail Federation trade group reported on Sunday that total sales for the four days from Thanksgiving through Sunday had risen 12.8 percent to $59.1 billion. That is down from a 16.4 percent increase last year.

  But analysts were quick to note that a strong initial weekend does not make an entire holiday season.

  Barclays Capital analyst Alan Rifkin said he was " a little skeptical" about the reported strength of the number. Thanksgiving weekend typically accounts for 16 percent to 19 percent of total holiday sales, which most retailers are expecting to show a rise of only 3 percent to 4 percent, he said.

  " There's plenty of time left," said Kevin Regan, senior managing director for retail at FTI Consulting. He said he expected a lull for the next couple weeks, with another burst of buying right before Christmas, which falls on a Tuesday this year.

  In fact, four of the five busiest shopping days of the season will come in the 10 days leading up to Christmas Day, according to ShopperTrak.

  Quintiliano said Ann Inc, which specializes in women's clothing, " may potentially prove to be the most disappointing as traffic never fully materialized on stable promotions" over the four-day Thanksgiving weekend. The company's shares were down 3.7 percent on Monday.

  UBS analyst Roxanne Meyer said specialty retailers with strong foot traffic included Limited Brands Inc, American Eagle and Gap Inc, with relatively weaker traffic at Aeropostale, Cold Water Creek Inc and Chico's FAS Inc.

  Like Ann, Cold Water Creek and Chico's focus on mature women shoppers, whereas American Eagle and Abercrombie target younger people.

* European finance ministers struggle with Greek debt deal

  * Looming U.S. budget crunch dents confidence

  * Egyptian violent protests fuel Middle East supply concerns

  * Coming up: API oil inventory data 4:30 p.m. EST Tuesday (Recasts with updated prices, market activity changes dateline, pvs LONDON)

  NEW YORK, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Crude oil prices fell on Monday as concerns about Greek debt talks and U.S. budget negotiations kept the specter of dampened oil demand in focus.

  While uncertainty about attempts to address fiscal dilemmas on both sides of the Atlantic applied pressure to oil prices, the political crisis in Egypt kept fears about the region's oil supply in focus, along with the fragile ceasefire in Gaza and the ongoing conflict in Syria.

  Caution about talks to release emergency aid to keep Greece financially afloat weighed on equities around the globe, including Wall Street stocks, and pressured the euro.

  Investors awaited as euro zone finance ministers and the International Monetary Fund began a third attempt in as many weeks to release emergency aid for Greece, with policymakers saying a write-down of Greek debt was off the table for now.

  " There are reports the Greek debt talks are not going well," said Carsten Fritsch, oil analyst at Commerzbank in Frankfurt. " Wall Street is opening down and other markets are following."

  The recent wrangling among U.S. lawmakers has produced little progress toward a compromise designed to avoid mandated tax increases and government spending cuts scheduled for Jan. 1.

  The threat to oil demand would result if the sudden shock of the tax boosts and government spending cuts sent a sputtering U.S. economy back into recession.

  Brent January crude fell $1 to $110.38 a barrel by 11:23 a.m. EST (1623 GMT), retreating below the 50-day moving average of $110.58 and the 100-day moving average of $110.48.

  U.S. January crude was down 91 cents at $87.37 a barrel, near the $87.27 session low.

  " Crude is feeling some pressure from the concerns about Greece and Spain and the nagging worries about the fiscal cliff, with the stock market lower and the dollar index strengthening adding some pressure," said Phil Flynn, analyst at Price Futures Group in Chicago.

  Mild forecasts for U.S. weather pushed U.S. natural gas futures lower and helped U.S. heating oil futures slump more than 1 percent.

  U.S. gasoline futures also pulled back.

  MIDDLE EAST UNCERTAINTY

  Violent protests in Egypt helped support prices early on Monday. Investors are worried that a political crisis in Egypt over an expansion of the powers of President Mohamed Mursi, could destabilize the rest of the region.

  Mursi was to meet senior judges on Monday to try to ease the dispute that has set off violent protests reminiscent of last year's revolution, which brought him to power.

  " If it is getting messy there, it could spill over into other countries - oil producers in North Africa and even into the Gulf and even countries like Saudi Arabia," Fritsch said.

  Egyptian mediators began separate talks on Monday with Hamas and with Israel to flesh out details of a ceasefire agreed last week that ended eight days of fighting in the Gaza Strip. (Reporting by Robert Gibbons in New York, Christopher Johnson in London and Jessica Jaganathan in Singapore Editing by Marguerita Choy)