* Commodity markets still focused on dollar after G20 accord
* Dollar hits 15-year low vs yen
* Hurricane Richard downgraded to tropical storm
* Coming Up: Bernanke speech 1230 GMT
(Updates prices, adds details on hurricane, French strike)
By Alex Lawler
LONDON, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Oil rose above $82 a barrel on
Monday, gaining for a second session as the U.S. currency
weakened after a Group of 20 meeting.
The dollar dropped, hitting a 15-year low against the yen,
as the G20 agreement to shun competitive currency devaluations
was taken by investors as a go-ahead to resume dollar selling.
U.S. crude <CLc1> for December climbed 66 cents to $82.35 a
barrel at 1130 GMT, around $2 from a five-month high of $84.43
reached on Oct. 7. ICE Brent <LCOc1> added 54 cents to $83.50.
"People are still selling dollars after the G20 meeting and
that is putting upside pressure on commodities," said Michelle
Kwek, an analyst at Informa Global Markets in Singapore.
Among other commodities, gold rose more than 1 percent,
palladium hit its highest in nearly a decade and copper reached
a 27-month high in London.
Analysts said the G20 outcome suggested a return to the
pre-existing status quo in currency markets, with the dollar
staying under pressure due to expectations the Federal Reserve
would unveil a second round of quantitative easing as early as
November.
Investors are waiting for a speech by U.S. Federal Reserve
Chairman Ben Bernanke at 1230 GMT.
Oil has also been supported by strikes in France over
pension and port reforms, which have reduced fuel supplies.
Workers at seven out of France's 12 refineries voted to
continue striking on Monday, but two of the other five plants
could vote to end their action, union officials said.
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<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Map of fuel shortages in France:
http://link.reuters.com/hut69p
Map showing refineries supplied from Fos-Lavera:
http://r.reuters.com/zar46p
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Oil traders were keeping an eye on the potential for weather
disruption to supplies in the Gulf of Mexico.
Hurricane Richard was downgraded to a tropical storm on
Monday as it moved across northern Guatemala and southeastern
Mexico after battering Belize.
The storm was expected to further weaken to a tropical
depression before it enters Mexico's Bay of Campeche on Monday
night or early Tuesday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
[]
(Additional reporting by Alejandro Barbajosa in Singapore;
editing by Keiron Henderson)
