* Russia says global oil demand may not recover to 2019
levels
* OPEC+ struggles to pump more oil to meet rising demand
* Coming up: API data on U.S. inventories at 4:30 p.m. ET
(New throughout, updates prices, market activity and comments;
new byline, changes dateline, previous LONDON)
By Stephanie Kelly
NEW YORK, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Oil prices rose modestly in a
see-saw session on Tuesday, as concerns about the global
consumption outlook counterbalanced the struggle by big OPEC
producers pump enough supply to meet growing demand.
Both benchmarks were at one point up by $1 per barrel, but
Brent crude pared gains and was up just 32 cents to
$74.24 a barrel by 11:49 a.m. EDT (1549 GMT) after falling by
almost 2% on Monday.
The October West Texas Intermediate (WTI) contract,
which expires on Tuesday, rose 16 cents to $70.45 a barrel,
after dropping 2.3% in the previous session. The more-active
November contract rose 27 cents a barrel to $70.41.
Brent and the more-active WTI contract earlier reached
session highs of $75.18 a barrel and $71.48 per barrel,
respectively.
"It seems to be a very nervous trade today," said Phil
Flynn, senior analyst at Price Futures group in Chicago. "It's a
little bit of ongoing concerns about the potential impact of
demand going forward."
Prices pared gains on Tuesday after the TASS news agency
said Russia believes global oil demand may not recover to its
2019 peak before the pandemic, as the energy balance shifts.
However, OPEC and its allies struggled to pump enough oil in
August to meet current consumption as the world recovers from
the coronavirus pandemic. Several countries appeared to have
produced less than expected as part of the OPEC+ agreement -
suggesting a supply gap could grow.
Investors across financial assets have been rocked by
fallout from the China Evergrande crisis that has
harmed asset values in risk markets like equities.
In addition, the U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to start
tightening monetary policy, which could cut investor tolerance
for riskier assets such as oil. Federal Reserve policymakers
begin a two-day meeting Tuesday.
U.S. oil production is still recovering from hurricanes that
hit the Gulf Coast region. Royal Dutch Shell, the
largest U.S. Gulf of Mexico oil producer, said on Monday that
damage to offshore transfer facilities from Hurricane Ida will
cut production into early next year.
About 18% of the U.S. Gulf's oil and 27% of its natural gas
production remained offline on Monday, more than three weeks
after Hurricane Ida.
Industry data later on Tuesday was expected to show U.S.
crude and product inventories falling.
(Reporting by Stephanie Kelly in New York; additional reporting
by Ahmad Ghaddar in London and Aaron Sheldrick in Tokyo; Editing
by Louise Heavens, Barbara Lewis and David Gregorio)
