* Alleged rebel attack in Nigeria revives supply concerns
* Frigid weather in U.S. Northeast, Europe supports prices
* OPEC meeting, holidays keep volumes low
* Dollar strength limits gain in oil price
(Adds details, updayes prices; changes dateline from LONDON)
By Joshua Schneyer
NEW YORK, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Oil prices held firm above $73
a barrel on Monday, following reports of oil pipeline attacks
in major exporters Iraq and Nigeria over the weekend, and as
cold weather in the United States and Europe raised the
prospect of increased fuel demand.
U.S. crude futures for January delivery <CLc1>, in their
final day of trading before expiry later Monday, rose 66 cents
to $74.02 a barrel by 11:25 a.m. EST (1625 GMT), after settling
up 73 cents on Friday. The more actively traded February
contract was at $74.86. In London, Brent crude <LCOc1> was up
33 cents at $74.08.
Gains were limited by thin trade during a holiday-shortened
week and ahead of Tuesday's meeting of the Organization of the
Petroleum Exporting Countries in Luanda, Angola on Tuesday.
Nigerian militants said on Saturday they had carried out
their first attack on an oil pipeline since the government
offered them amnesty in October ahead of peace talks, which
have faced delays. The alleged attack on a Royal Dutch Shell
pipeline was not immediately confirmed. [].
"The pipeline news is certainly something we'll be
monitoring. The Nigerian attack isn't confirmed, but this
raises questions about whether we'll see stability there, or
we'll go back to four pipeline attacks every month," said Tim
Evans of Citi Futures Perspective in New York.
An Iraqi pipeline linking Kirkuk to Turkey's Ceyhan port
stopped shipping its typical daily volume of 500,000 barrels of
crude late Saturday. Iraqi officials said they suspected
sabotage of the pipeline, which was unlikely to resume
shipments until later this week. []
Iranian troops partly withdrew from a disputed oil area in
Iraq over the weekend, reducing tensions between two major
crude exporters that had helped to boost oil prices by 1
percent on Friday. []
Heavy snow and freezing temperatures in the U.S. Northeast
and Europe also pushed prices higher. U.S. government data last
Wednesday showed large declines in U.S. crude and distillate
inventories in the previous week, in part due to colder
weather. []
The price of oil has risen from a 2-1/2-month low below $70
a barrel a week ago. Prices also rose Monday in tandem with
U.S. equities, on optimism that an economic recovery could
boost fuel demand. <.SPX>
Oil price gains were capped by a firm dollar, which hovered
near its highest level in more than three months against the
euro on Monday. []
Strength in the greenback makes dollar-priced commodities
more expensive for holders of other currencies.
"We suspect that it will likely continue to strengthen into
the year end and act as an overall drag on (oil) prices," MF
Global analyst Edward Meir said.
There was little reason to expect a change in output policy
from the OPEC meeting in Luanda that starts on Tuesday, with
oil ministers saying targets would be retained.
[]
Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi has already made
clear he believed the current price is right. His view was
echoed by Algerian Energy and Mines Minister Chakib Khelil and
Iraqi Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani.
"The OPEC meeting has status quo written all over it," said
Evans.
Japan's crude oil imports rose 0.4 percent in November from
a year ago, the first year-on-year gain in 13 months as the
country recovers from the global financial crisis.
(Additional reporting by Robert Gibbons in New York, David
Sheppard in London and Osamu Tsukimori in Tokyo; Editing by
Walter Bagley)
