UPDATE 7-Brent crude falls on renewed lockdowns, stronger dollar

* Most of Europe now under the strictest curbs
* China's Hebei sees most COVID-19 cases since July
* Dollar gains on U.S. stimulus hopes

(New throughout, updates prices, market activity and comments
to settlement)
By Stephanie Kelly
NEW YORK, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Oil prices steadied on Monday
after strong gains last week, as tough coronavirus lockdowns
around the world renewed concerns about global fuel demand,
while a stronger U.S. dollar also weighed on prices.
Brent LCOc1 fell 33 cents to settle at $55.66 a barrel,
after bouncing off the session low of $54.99. U.S. West Texas
Intermediate (WTI) CLc1 rose a cent to settle at $52.25 a
barrel.
"The renewed concerns about demand due to very high numbers
of new corona cases and further mobility restrictions, plus the
stronger U.S. dollar, are generating selling pressure,"
Commerzbank analyst Eugen Weinberg said.
Worldwide coronavirus cases surpassed 90 million, according
to a Reuters tally. Despite strict national lockdowns, Britain is facing the
worst weeks of the pandemic, and in Germany cases are still
rising. Mainland China saw its biggest daily increase in virus
infections in more than five months, authorities said, as new
infections rose in Hebei, which surrounds the capital, Beijing.
In Shijiazhuang, the provincial capital and epicentre of the new
outbreak, people and vehicles are barred from leaving, as
authorities seek to rein in the spread.
A stronger dollar .DXY , supported by hopes for more
stimulus to boost the world's largest economy, also weighed on
oil prices. Oil is usually priced in dollars, so a stronger
dollar makes crude more expensive for buyers with other
currencies. Monday's losses follow a strong week for oil prices. Brent
and WTI rose around 8% last week, supported by Saudi Arabia's
pledge for a voluntary oil output cut of 1 million barrels per
day (bpd) in February and March as part of a deal for most OPEC+
producers to hold production steady.
"Although oil prices are declining today, the Saudi move is
still keeping them at quite high levels," said Bjornar
Tonhaugen, Rystad Energy's head of oil markets. "Today the
correction is not massive, rather a logical adjustment caused by
some bearish demand signals and by a strengthening U.S. dollar."
The Saudi cut is expected to bring the oil market into
deficit for most of 2021 even though lockdowns are hitting
demand, analysts said. Brent could rise to $65 per barrel by summer 2021, Goldman
Sachs said, driven by Saudi cuts and the implications of a shift
in power to the Democrats in the United States. <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
New curbs put a brake on traffic in Shijiazhuang https://tmsnrt.rs/2XmpXxG
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>