* Dollar firms against other currencies, pressuring oil
* OPEC ministers happy with oil market, no output change
* Alleged rebel attack in Nigeria revives supply concerns
* Frigid weather in U.S. Northeast, Europe supports prices
(Recasts, updates prices, market activity)
By Joshua Schneyer
NEW YORK, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Monday as a
stronger dollar offset cold weather in the United States and
reports of pipeline snags in oil exporters Iraq and Nigeria.
Producer group OPEC was set to leave output limits
unchanged at a meeting in Angola on Tuesday, officials from the
cartel said, and appeared likely to call for improved
compliance with existing curbs. []
U.S. crude futures for January delivery <CLc1>, in their
final day of trading before expiry later Monday, fell $1.23 a
barrel to $72.13 a barrel by 1:18 p.m. EST (1818 GMT). The more
actively traded February contract was down 95 cents at $73.47.
In London, Brent crude <LCOc1> was down 94 cents at $72.81.
The U.S. dollar firmed to a six week high against the
Japanese yen and stayed near a three-month high against the
euro, as investors bet the U.S. economy may recover faster than
other regions from recession. []
Greece is facing a fiscal crisis that puts the country's
credit-worthiness at risk and has shaken investor confidence in
euro zone economies. []
Oil prices have often fallen this year when the dollar
firms, making crude more costly for holders of other
currencies. A stronger dollar can also signal investors plowing
funds into safe havens and away from assets considered more
risky, such as commodities.
Oil trading was thin during a holiday-shortened week and
ahead of Tuesday's OPEC meeting.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
(OPEC) meets in Luanda, Angola to discuss production policy,
but officials from the group plan no change to production
targets and are satisfied with prices in their current range.
Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi told reporters in
Luanda on Monday that the group did not need to change output
targets since the state of the oil market is "very good" and
the world economy is growing gradually but steadily.
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. [].
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. []
(Additional reporting by Robert Gibbons and Matthew
Robinson in New York, David Sheppard in London and Osamu
Tsukimori in Tokyo; Editing by David Gregorio)
