NEW YORK, Nov 10 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures rose on Tuesday
after Gulf of Mexico energy output was curbed by a tropical storm and on
hope that oil demand will improve with economic recovery and that interest
rates will remain low.

"People are buying hard assets. They are borrowing cheap dollars and
buying foreign currency or commodities," said Stephen Schork, editor of
industry newsletter Schork Report in Villanova, Pennsylvania.

Crude rallied sharply on Monday on the dollar's weakness and as nearly
a third of Gulf of Mexico oil and natural gas output was shut in by the
storm.

"Market sentiment seemed to shift back towards recovery yesterday after
Friday's sharp losses," Mike Fitzpatrick, vice president at MF Global in
New York, said in a research note.

A weakening Tropical Storm Ida moved ashore after shutting down almost
30 percent of Gulf of Mexico energy production. It was downgraded to a
tropical depression. [ID:nLA627057]

The dollar rose broadly on Tuesday, but was up from a 15-month low
touched in the prior session. [USD/]

Crude oil's push higher on Tuesday also was seen as an attempt to push
above $80.50, where buy stops were expected to be triggered, according to
broker sources.

PRICES

* On the New York Mercantile Exchange at 10:47 a.m. EST (1547 GMT),
December crude CLZ9 was rose 68 cents, or 0.86 percent, at $80.11 a
barrel, trading from $78.55 to $80.51.

* In London, December Brent crude LCOZ9 rose 78 cents, or 1.0
percent, to $78.55 a barrel, trading from $76.90 to $78.92.

* NYMEX December RBOB RBZ9 rose 2.49 cents, or 1.26 percent, to
$2.0067 a gallon, trading from $1.96 to $2.0174.

* NYMEX December heating oil HOZ9 rose 1.78 cents, or 0.86 percent,
to $2.0805 a gallon, trading from $2.0357 to $2.0905.

* The December/December RBOB crack spread <0#RB-CL=R> was at $4.18,
after ending at $3.81 on Monday. The December/December heating oil crack
spread <0#CL-HO=R> was at $7.27, after ending at $7.20 on Monday.

* The spread between the current front month and the five-year forward
crude contract CLc61 was at $11.83, based on the December 2014 contract
Monday settlement at $91.94. The spread ended Monday at $12.51.

TECHNICALS

NYMEX crude 10-day/20-day moving average: $78.81/$78.97

Technical support/resistance:

NYMEX crude: $76.50/$82.00

NYMEX heating oil: $2.06/$2.1289

NYMEX RBOB: $1.9818/$2.09

For a full report on technicals, click on [ID:nLA644313]

MARKET NEWS

* Sinopec Corp (0386.HK: Quote, Profile, Research) expects 2010 crude imports from Iran at
400,000 barrels per day or slightly more. [ID:nPEK313910]

* Louisiana Offshore Oil Port operations should return to normal by
late Tuesday or early Wednesday after loadings were halted ahead of
Tropical Storm Ida. [ID:nN10304093]

* Oil products stockpiles in 16 European countries fell in October as
refiners cut back production, allowing crude oil inventories to jump,
Euroilstock said. [ID:nLA671649]

* Global oil demand will grow 700,000 bpd in 2010 as demand growth
returns after two years of contraction, OPEC Secretary-General Abdullah
al-Badri said in a speech delivered on his behalf on Tuesday.
[ID:nLA602971]

* A Reuters survey on Monday yielded a forecast for crude supplies to
have risen 400,000 barrels last week, with gasoline stocks unchanged and
distillate supplies down. [EIA/S]

* The American Petroleum Institute will release inventory data on
Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. EST (21:30 GMT). U.S. Energy Information
Administration data will be released on Thursday at 11:00 a.m. EST (1600
GMT) due to a holiday.
(Reporting by Robert Gibbons; Editing by John Picinich)