NYMEX-Crude rises above $73 ahead of Jan expiry

NEW YORK, Dec 18 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures rose nearly
1 percent in choppy pre-holiday trade on Friday, on short
covering ahead of the January contract expiration on Monday.

A dispute between Iran and Iraq and cold weather across the
U.S. and Europe helped support prices.

"We have this tension between Iran and Iraq. The timing of
the news, on the Friday before Christmas week, means that
traders out next week are covering shorts," said Peter Beutel,
president at Cameron Hanover in New Canaan, Connecticut.

Iranian soldiers crossed into Iraqi territory and took up a
position at a southern oil field whose ownership is disputed by
Iran, an Iraqi official said Friday.

February crude settled up 34 cents at $74.42 a barrel.

The dollar rose broadly on Friday on signs that the U.S.
economy might be improving. The dollar's strength weighed on
the Dow and S&P 500 as investors pared back risky bets. [USD/]
[.N]

PRICES

* On the New York Mercantile Exchange January crude CLF0
rose 71 cents, or 0.98 percent, to settle at $73.36, trading
from $72.55 to $74.69.

* In London, front-month February Brent crude LCOG0 rose
38 cents, or 0.52 percent, to settle at $73.75 a barrel,
trading from $72.76 to $74.84. The January Brent contract
expired on Wednesday.

* NYMEX January RBOB RBF0 rose 4.28 cents, or 2.31
percent, to settle at 1.8948 a gallon, trading from $1.8460 to
$1.9028.

* NYMEX January heating oil HOF0 rose 0.07 cents, or 0.04
percent, to settle at 1.9567 a gallon, trading from $1.9455 to
1.9926.

* The January/January RBOB crack spread <0#RB-CL=R> ended
at $6.22, after ending at $5.13 on Thursday. The
January/January heating oil crack spread <0#CL-HO=R> ended at
$8.82, after ending at $9.56 on Thursday.

* The spread between the current front month and the
five-year forward crude contract CLc61 ended at $17.14, based
on the January 2015 contract Friday settlement at $90.50.

MARKET NEWS

* U.S. crude is expected to rise to an average of $76.40 a
barrel in 2010, according to a Reuters poll of analysts.
[ID:nLDE5BG1UF]

* Saudi Arabia's oil minister said OPEC's meeting next week
will not change output due to current satisfactory oil prices,
according to a local newspaper. [ID:nLDE5BH0NY]

* Kuwait Oil Co said on Friday that it was trying to stop
an oil leak at a well in the al-Magwa oil field, though
production was not affected. [ID:nLDE5BH13I]
(Reporting by Edward McAllister; Editing by Walter Bagley)