UPDATE 9-Oil prices steady after 6 weeks of gains, pressured by glut

* Explosion hits oil tanker in Saudi port of Jeddah
* U.S., Britain roll out COVID-19 vaccine deliveries
* Germany to widen lockdowns as it battles COVID-19
* U.S. energy rigs rise the most since January -Baker Hughes

(Updates to settlement)
By Devika Krishna Kumar
NEW YORK, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Oil prices were little changed
in choppy trade on Monday as persistent oversupply in the market
largely offset hopes that a rollout of coronavirus vaccines will
lift global fuel demand.
Brent crude futures LCOc1 for February ended the session
32 cents, or 0.6%, higher at $50.29 a barrel, while U.S. West
Texas Intermediate crude futures CLc1 for January settled up
42 cents, or 0.9%, at $46.99 a barrel.
Prices slid more than 1% earlier in the session after OPEC
said global oil demand would rebound more slowly in 2021 than
previously thought because of the lingering impact of the
coronavirus pandemic, hampering efforts by the group and its
allies to support the market. Brent and WTI have rallied for six consecutive weeks, their
longest stretch of weekly gains since June.
"Price momentum has slowed appreciably during the past
couple of weeks and while some fresh or unexpected bullish
headlines may be required to advance the complex into new high
territory, we will also note a market that appears to have
developed immunity to bearish headlines that would normally be
slapping the complex down," Jim Ritterbusch, president of
Ritterbusch and Associates, said.
Signs of rising supply have weighed on the market. Libyan
oil production stood at 1.28 million barrels per day on Monday,
a National Oil Corporation (NOC) source said, up from 1.25
million bpd in late November. In the United States, energy firms last week added the most
oil and natural gas rigs in a week since January as producers
continued to return to the well pad.
Global onshore crude inventories in December are still well
above 2019 and 2018 levels, market intelligence firm Kpler said,
with the biggest onshore builds this year seen in China .
"Whilst the sharp jump of global stocks from the beginning
of the Covid pandemic in spring to summer mirrored anemic fuels
demand early this year, a still historic high volume of crude
oil stocks indicates worldwide demand hasn't yet bounced back to
pre-Covid levels," the firm said in a note.
Major European countries continued in lockdown mode to curb
the spread of COVID-19, which has reduced fuel demand. Germany,
the fourth-largest economy in the world, plans to impose a
stricter lockdown from Wednesday to battle the virus.

In early trading, prices rose after a shipping firm said an
oil tanker was hit in the Saudi port of Jeddah, which the Energy
Ministry called a terrorist act. "Traders have for years now been used to tensions flaring in
the region and when that happens, oil markets tick up," said
Bjornar Tonhaugen, Rystad Energy's head of oil markets.
"(The blast) has caused concerns for stability in the major
oil hub of Jeddah and for overall traffic security in the
region."
The United States kicked off its vaccination campaign
against COVID-19, lifting hopes that pandemic restrictions could
end soon and lift demand in the world's largest oil consumer.
"Brent crude is supported by both financial and physical
flows. The dollar is declining, the Brent crude curve is in
backwardation and vaccines are being rolled out," said SEB chief
commodity analyst Bjarne Schieldrop.
"We think that this rally has further to go."
OPEC+ has postponed meetings of its Joint Technical
Committee and Ministerial Monitoring Committee until Jan. 3 and
4, OPEC said in a statement on Monday.