European shares gain on firmer oil producers

LONDON, July 13 (Reuters) - European shares gained in early afternoon trade on Monday, reversing earlier losses, as heavyweight energy stocks climbed on steadying crude prices.

At 1217 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top European shares was up 0.6 percent at 818.91 points, after touching 805.93 earlier in the session -- its lowest since late April.

Oil producers added the most points to the index, with BP (BP.L), Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.AS), Total (TOTF.PA), Repsol (REP.MC) and BG Group (BG.L) up 0.4 to 2.1 percent. (Reporting by Dominic Lau)