Oil edged lower in early dealing this week,.....>

OIL: Oil edged lower in early dealing this week, with WTI & Brent shedding a

touch over $0.30 a piece, unravelling a chunk of the risk-on gains made late

Friday.

- The latest U.S. Baker Hughes rig count, released Friday, revealed an unchanged

number of active U.S. oil rigs, while Wells Fargo has noted that decisions re:

investment in pipelines are being delayed for several reasons.

- Elsewhere, over the weekend Iran reiterated that "no member country should be

allowed to take over another member's share of oil exports."

- This also comes at a time when questions continue to swirl regarding the

stability of Libyan oil production.

- A bearish trend is developing in WTI, which could garner additional momentum

if the August 16 low ($64.43) is taken out. The next level of support beyond

this is the 200-DMA ($63.31). Recovery attempts have remained corrective and

limited. The 38.2% retracement level of the last leg lower ($65.94) remains

unchallenged.