* Iraq official says Iranian troops in Iraqi oilfield
* Iraqi minister denies incursion occurred
* Cold U.S. weather, weaker dollar supports oil
* OPEC won't change output-OPEC president, Saudi minister
(Adds Iran-Iraq, updates prices)
By Joe Brock
LONDON, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Oil rose above $74 a barrel on
Friday after an Iraqi official said Iranian troops briefly
entered an Iraqi oilfield on Thursday [], and on
the prospect of increased winter demand.
Iraq's deputy interior minister denied the incursion had
occurred [].
A cold snap gripping the U.S. Northeast, the world's top
heating oil market, also supported the market
The dollar <.DXY> fell from a more than three-month high on
Friday, underpinning oil's gains. A weaker dollar makes
commodities such as oil cheaper for those holding other
currencies.
U.S. crude for January delivery <CLc1> hit a high of $74.32
a barrel on the Iraq report but had eased to $73.81 a barrel, up
$1.16 by 1237 GMT.
London Brent crude <LCOc1> was up 79 cents at $74.16.
"Firstly, the weaker dollar is supportive today," said Eugen
Weinberg, oil analyst at Commerzbank in Frankfurt.
"The U.S. weather is having an impact as well, especially on
natural gas where yesterday stocks fell more-than-expected and
it is also helping oil prices."
U.S. natural gas inventories fell for just the second time
this winter season, down 207 billion cubic feet, according to
the U.S. Energy Information Administration. []
U.S. President Barack Obama joined other world leaders in
Copenhagen in a last push for a new global climate deal on
Friday, but with no agreement on the core issue of greenhouse
gas emissions they faced an enormous task.
"If there is no strong binding agreement the market might
take it as a signal that fossil fuel demand will remain as it
is, which helps prices," Weinberg said.
OPEC MEETING
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
will not change output targets when it meets in Angola on Dec.
22, the group's president said on Friday. []
"Oil prices are trading at $70 to $75 per barrel which is
the level our group has defended. I believe we will maintain the
decisions that were taken in the past about output quotas and
keep targets unchanged," Jose Botelho de Vasconcelos told
Angolan Radio Ecclesia. []
That view was echoed by the group's most influential oil
minister, Saudi Arabia's Ali al-Naimi, in comments published on
Friday.
"The (meeting) will not lead to any change in production,"
Saudi-owned al-Hayat quoted Naimi as saying. "And the oil price
of $75 to $80 is something we all want," Naimi told the
newspaper in Copenhagen, where he was attending the U.N. climate
summit. []
U.S crude oil is expected to rise to an average of $76.40 a
barrel in 2010 and $82.70 in 2011, a Reuters poll showed on
Friday, as global economic recovery solidifies and the demand
for fuel begins to soak up available supply. []
(Additional reporting by Jennifer Tan in SINGAPORE; Editing
by William Hardy)
