LONDON, Feb 1 (Reuters) - ICE Brent crude oil futures rose on Monday, supported by a weaker dollar and the sabotage of an oil pipeline in Nigeria at the weekend, while gas oil futures slipped as the weather turned milder in parts of Europe. "The oil price may be somewhat supported by news that oil company Shell had to close three of its pumping stations in Nigeria during the weekend," Commerzbank analysts said in a research note. But the bank said an increase in supplies from OPEC and slack demand weighed on oil, capping price gains. [ID:nN29165198] February gas oil futures fell as low as $576.50 a tonne, the same level as the intraday low on Friday and the cheapest since mid-October. BRENT PRICES * March Brent LCOc1 was trading up 54 cents at $72.00 a barrel at 1253 GMT. * The March/April Brent spread was 57 cents in contango, narrowing from 74 cent at Friday's close. * March Brent's discount to March U.S. crude was $1.35 per barrel LCO1=R, 2 cents narrower than Friday. GAS OIL PRICES LGOc1 * ICE February gas oil futures fell $3.25 to $583.25 a tonne by 1255 GMT. * The contango between February and March was at $7 a tonne, 25 cents narrower than Friday. TECHNICALS * Brent support at $71.01 a barrel, resistance at $73.80. * Gas oil support at $595, resistance at $610.00. FUNDAMENTALS * Shell (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Sunday that sabotage forced the company to shut down three pumping stations in Nigeria. The sabotage on Saturday came hours after the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) ended a three-month-old ceasefire and threatened to unleash "an all-out assault" on Africa's biggest oil and gas industry. [ID:nLDE60T00E] MEND said on Monday it was not directly responsible for the sabotage and was not clear how much oil production had been shut in. [ID:nLDE6100BY] * Private forecaster DTN Meteorlogix said temperatures in Northwest Europe would be changeable between below and above normal for up to the next 10 days. It had previously forecast colder weather. [DTN/] * Worries that the potential tightening of China's monetary policy may result in lower energy demand has weighed oil prices since late January. OTHER MARKETS * European share fell by midday, with oil equity slipping [.EU] * The euro gained against the dollar due to stronger than expected euro zone PMI data. [FRX/] * Worries that China's government, emboldened by the country's robust growth and wary of price pressures, will act more aggressively to tighten monetary conditions weighed on the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index .SSEC, which fell to its lowest close in more than three months. [ID:nTOE610091] DATA/EVENTS * U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday unveiled a budget that must balance his short-term political imperative to boost jobs, while convincing investors he has a credible plan to curb record deficits over time. * Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) reported a 23 percent decline in its fourth-quarter profit on Monday, as weak demand for fuel in the global economic slowdown hurt the largest U.S. oil company's refining business. [ID:nN01189745] * Shell and BP (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research) will announce their earnings later this week. (Reporting by Ikuko Kurahone, editing by Anthony Barker)

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