* Dollar climbs vs euro, basket of currencies
* French port, refinery strikes may limit oil's losses
* Saudi oil minister describes $70-$80 range as "ideal"
* Coming Up: Fed meeting minutes from Sept. 21; 1800 GMT
(Updates prices, adds French strike context)
By Zaida Espana and Joe Brock
LONDON, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Oil prices slipped for a second
day on Tuesday, falling towards $82 a barrel after Saudi Arabia
signalled OPEC would maintain current production levels and as
the dollar rallied against the euro.
Strikes at French ports and at eight of the country's 12 oil
refineries on Tuesday slashed output and pushed up prices of oil
products, which could carry through to support crude prices.
U.S. crude for November delivery <CLc1> lost 79 cents to
$81.42 a barrel by 1353 GMT, off an earlier session low of
$80.88, which was down by more than $3 from last week's
five-month high of $84.43.
ICE November Brent crude <LC0c1> shed 70 cents to $83.02.
Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said he was happy
with the oil market as he arrived in Vienna on Monday for the
first meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting
Countries (OPEC) in seven months, to take place this Thursday.
He described prices of between $70 and $80 as "ideal",
indicating the producer group's most powerful member had no
plans to pursue higher prices. []
The dollar rose by 0.4 percent against a basket of
currencies in Tuesday trade, recovering partly from lows against
the euro on Monday. []
"What we've seen is the dollar is still a bit stronger, not
only against the euro but also against a basket of currencies,"
said Andrey Kryuchenkov of VTB Capital.
A stronger dollar renders dollar-denominated commodities
more expensive for non-dollar buyers.
The minutes of the U.S. FOMC meeting on Sept. 21 were
awaited for indications on the likely extent of a second round
of quantitative easing, commonly referred to as QE2, although
many analysts said the market had already priced this in.
"We believe the actual onset of QE2 will further lift oil
prices," Michael Lo from Nomura Global Equity Research said in a
note. "However, given the different starting points for oil
prices and economics between QE1 and QE2, we believe the impact
of QE2 will be less pronounced."
OPEC
OPEC has not officially changed its production ceiling since
December 2008.
Levels of compliance with implied targets, however, have
slipped to 56.5 percent, according to Reuters calculations based
on OPEC data, leaving plenty of scope to adjust output
informally as the market dictates.
The International Energy Agency, adviser to major industrial
countries, is hoping for no surprises from OPEC this week, IEA
Executive Director Nobuo Tanaka said.
"We want to request that OPEC will look at the global
market carefully, and prices and supply and demand situations,
and make flexible judgements and decisions," Tanaka said in a
Reuters Insider television interview.
OPEC said in its monthly report on Tuesday there was a broad
consensus that oil prices around their current range have helped
support economic recovery and promote industry investment.
A Reuters poll showed U.S. crude stockpiles are expected to
have risen for a second straight week, adding 1.3 million
barrels in the week to Oct. 8 due to higher imports.
Industry group the American Petroleum Institute will issue
its weekly inventory report on Wednesday at 2030 GMT, a day
later than usual because of Monday's Columbus Day holiday.
Government statistics from the U.S. Energy Information
Administration will follow on Thursday at 1500 GMT.
Sanford Bernstein cut its average 2011 U.S. crude oil price
forecast by 12 percent on Monday to $90 and its 2012 estimate by
8 percent to $102 due to bulging global inventories.
French oil refineries cut output on Tuesday as a nationwide
strike further choked supplies, with workers at major ports and
eight out of 12 French refineries going on strike.
The protests are expected to exacerbate thinning crude and
gasoline volumes in France, which have already suffered as
continued action at the country's largest oil hub of Fos-Lavera
rolled into its 16th day on Tuesday. []
(Additional reporting by Alejandro Barbajosa in Singapore;
editing by Anthony Barker)
