NYMEX-Crude choppy, edges up on dollar and cold

* Below normal temperatures forecast for U.S. Northeast

* Dollar weaker against basket of currencies

NEW YORK, Feb 8 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures edged up in
seesaw trading on Monday, with oil finding some support from
cold weather and a weaker dollar after a string of three
straight losing sessions.

But crude futures that rose more than $1 before the start
of the U.S. session were well off that high as concern about
euro zone economies and a weak Wall Street open helped to keep
markets cautious.

"The complex furthered Friday's late session recovery at
the start of this new week with some help from a softer dollar
and a steady tone to the equities. Cold temperature forecasts
and some renewed concerns over Iran's nuclear program also
provided support," said Jim Ritterbusch, president at
Ritterbusch & Associates, in a research note.

The dollar weakened against a basket of currencies. .DXY
The euro also steadied against the dollar after softening
earlier on worries about euro zone fiscal health. [USD/]

Unseasonably cold weather will settle over the Midwest and
Northeast this week, according to forecasters. [ID:nN04177188]

Barclay's Capital in their Commodity Briefing report said
the recent bout of cold weather was providing support.

PRICES

* On the New York Mercantile Exchange, at 10:05 a.m. EST
(1504 GMT), March crude CLH0 was up 6 cents, or 0.08 percent,
at $71.25 a barrel, trading from $70.77 to $72.39.

Friday's $69.50 low was the weakest price since the Dec. 15
intraday low of $69.31.

* In London, March Brent crude LCOH0 edged up 11 cents,
or 0.16 percent, to $69.70 a barrel, trading from $69.21 to
$70.82.

* NYMEX March RBOB RBH0 slipped 0.98 cent, or 0.52
percent, to $1.8766 a gallon, trading from $1.87 to $1.9114.

* NYMEX March heating oil HOH0 was up 0.36 cent, or 0.19
percent, to $1.8784 a gallon, trading from $1.8650 to $1.9036.

* The March/March heating oil crack spread <0#CL-HO=R> was
at $7.54, after ending at $7.55 on Friday. The March/March RBOB
crack spread <0#RB-CL=R> was at $7.58, after ending at $8.04 on
Friday.

* The spread between the current front month and the
five-year forward crude contract CLc61 was at $13.44, based
on the March 2015 contract Friday settlement at $84.63. The
spread ended Friday at $13.44.

TECHNICALS

NYMEX crude 10-day/20-day moving average: $73.99/$76.14

Technical support/resistance:

NYMEX crude: $70.00/$73.10

NYMEX heating oil: $1.83/$1.94

NYMEX RBOB: $1.8124/$1.96

For a full report on technicals, click on [ID:nLDE61715L]

MARKET NEWS

* Valero Energy Corp (VLO.N) said Monday its fire-damaged
fluid catalytic cracking unit at its Quebec City refiner will
last several weeks. [ID:nN08188182]

* A Nigerian militant group said on Sunday it had attacked
a Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) oil pipeline in the Niger Delta
but Shell said it had no reports of sabotage. [ID:nLDE6160A5]

* A senior Russian lawmaker called on the international
community to prepare "serious measures" in response to Iran's
announcement that it would start making higher-grade reactor
fuel. [ID:nLDE6171Q0]

* For a list of U.S. refinery issues, click on [REF/US]

* The U.S. Energy Information Administration said its
monthly short-term energy forecast will be delayed to Wednesday
because of the snowstorm. [ID:nN08188853]
(Reporting by Robert Gibbons; editing by Jim Marshall)