Oil is flat in Asia-Pac trade, WTI up $0.10.....>

OIL: Oil is flat in Asia-Pac trade, WTI up $0.10 at $57.26, Brent is up $0.07 at

$63.47. Oil fell on Monday, dropping from highs of $57.78 to $56.82 before

bouncing into the close. Bearish factors included a return to normal operations

from the El-Feel field in Libya after a power outage on Saturday and Nigerian

oil workers suspending strike action. The market was supported by expectations

for a drawdown in crude inventory figures this week.

- MNI technical analysis sees WTI support at $56.88 - Low Dec 18, resistance is

seen at $57.46 - Hourly resistance Dec 18.  The aggressive rejection ahead of

the $58.99 Nov high was less than ideal last week and resulted in a dip below

the channel base. Bears look for a close below $55.88 to confirm a break of key

supports and below the 55-DMA to shift focus back to $52.63-83 where the channel

base off June lows and 100-DMA are noted. Bulls still need a close above $57.98

to reconfirm initial focus on $58.60-58.99 with a break targeting channel tops

($60.27-62.18).