Oil extended its losses to ease below $79 a barrel on Tuesday, after a nearly 3 percent slump in the previous session amid a wider slide in commodities tied to a rebound in the U.S. dollar.

U.S. crude futures lost 46 cents to $78.56 a barrel by 6:43 a.m. EDT. London Brent crude was 60 cents down at $75.98.

Analysts said fundamentals factors, including weak demand from U.S. refiners in the midst of seasonal maintenance as well as weakness in product demand with the end of the summer gasoline season, were weighing on oil.

You are also looking at the end of the hurricane season. So whatever bets were placed on a final hurricane are probably coming off, said BNP Paribas analyst Harry Tchlinguirian.

The Atlantic hurricane season, which runs through November, is yet to cause any major damage to oil or gas infrastructure.

The strengthening of the dollar has had a slight impact on the price of oil, added Gerard Burg, Minerals and Energy Economist at National Australia Bank.

Other commodities such as gold and copper have also retreated in the face of a resurgent dollar.

Some investors had bought crude and commodities in recent weeks as a hedge against the weaker U.S. dollar, which reached multi-year lows against other major currencies following a cut in U.S. interest rates last month.

But the dollar has recovered this week as expectations of a further cut in rates this month faded after a report late last week showed U.S. jobs growth in September was the strongest since May, although investors expect a cut by the year's end.

The U.S. currency firmed against the euro on Tuesday but slipped against the yen.

The slide in oil comes as concerns had begun to be expressed about high prices, which hit a record high of $83.90 on September 20.

The new executive director of the International Energy Agency, Nabuo Tanaka, told Reuters on Monday that high prices would eventually hurt consuming nations' economies but stopped short of calling on OPEC to further increase output.

OPEC members last month agreed to increase oil production by 500,000 barrels per day starting November 1.

Attention later this week will turn to U.S. data, expected to show a 600,000-barrel build in crude stocks, a 600,000-barrel draw in distillates and a 100,000-barrel fall in gasoline inventories, a preliminary Reuters poll showed.

The weekly data will be released on Thursday, a day later than usual, due to the Columbus Day holiday.

(Additional reporting by Luke Pachymuthu in Singapore)

(Reporting by Santosh Menon)

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