* Ida downgraded to tropical depression

* Dollar rebounds after slump in previous session

NEW YORK, Nov 10 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures edged lower
in very choppy trading on Tuesday, off an early high above $80
a barrel on the fading threat of tropical weather in the Gulf
of Mexico and with the dollar stronger on the day.

"Crude pulled back from its highs because the dollar
bounced a bit and there was no sizzle after the Ida fizzle,"
said Andrew Lebow, broker at MF Global in New York.

Tropical Storm Ida was downgraded to a tropical depression
by the time it came ashore in Alabama on Tuesday. After
shutting nearly a third of Gulf of Mexico oil and natural gas
output on Monday, companies began restoring operations on
Tuesday. [ID:nN10308574]

The dollar firmed after touching a 15-month low in the
prior session. Analysts said investors lacked any catalyst to
sell the dollar further after its recent sharp falls, but added
the trend toward dollar weakness remained in place. [UDS/]

Energy brokers had said crude oil's early push to $80.51
was an attempt to trigger buy stops above that level.

PRICES

* On the New York Mercantile Exchange, at 12:09 p.m. EST
(1709 GMT), December crude CLZ9 was down 14 cents, or 0.18
percent, at $79.29 a barrel, trading from $78.55 to $80.51.

* In London, December Brent crude LCOZ9 was near flat,
down only 8 cents, or 0.1 percent, to $77.69 a barrel, trading
from $76.90 to $78.92.

* Refined products futures also seesawed.

* NYMEX December RBOB RBZ9 rose 0.24 cent, or 0.12
percent to $1.9842 a gallon, trading from $1.96 to $2.0174.

* NYMEX December heating oil HOZ9 was up 0.25 cent, or
0.12 percent, to $2.0652 a gallon, trading from $2.0357 to
$2.0905.

* The December/December RBOB crack spread <0#RB-CL=R> was
at $4.03, after ending at $3.81 on Monday. The
December/December heating oil crack spread <0#CL-HO=R> was at
$7.48, after ending at $7.20 on Monday.

* The spread between the current front month and the
five-year forward crude contract CLc61 was at $12.65, 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]

* 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 after two
years of contraction, OPEC Secretary-General Abdullah al-Badri
said in a speech. [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 David Gregorio)