* China Nov oil imports increase, supportive to oil prices * China raises lender reserve requirements, curbs oil * IEA lifts global demand forecast, supportive to oil * Coming up: CFTC positions data, 3:30 p.m. EST Friday NEW YORK, Dec 10 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures prices dipped in seesaw trading on Friday, as China's move to raise lender reserve requirements offset supportive data showing strong crude imports by China in November and a higher global demand growth forecast from the International Energy Agency. China's central bank increased the amount of money that lenders must keep on reserve for the third time in one month, a move to mop up excess cash in the economy and rein in inflation. [ID:nTOE6B907U] Some said the move suggested that the reserves hike might be enough to cool inflation without an interest rate boost. Moves to slow economic growth in China are viewed as bearish developments for commodities prices as demand from China is considered key. A bout of cold weather in the United States, expected to resume in the U.S. Northeast next week with a winter storm forecast to drop snow on the region, has been supportive to oil prices. [ID:nDTN352] Europe's cold weather [ID:nDTN295] also has been a supportive factor. The U.S. trade deficit narrowed much more than expected in October, as exports rose a robust 3.2 percent and imports declined slightly in the face of slackening demand for industrial and petroleum products, a Commerce Department report showed on Friday. [ID:nN09288102] FUNDAMENTALS * On the New York Mercantile Exchange, January crude CLF1 slipped 2 cents to $88.35 a barrel at 9:05 a.m. EST (1405 GMT), trading from $88.14 to $89.00. * China's November crude oil imports jumped 22.1 percent from a year earlier to 5.09 million barrels per day, the fourth highest on record, data from China's General Administration of Customs showed. The volume was up 31.9 percent from the 19-month low of 3.86 million bpd in October, a Reuters calculation showed. [ID:nTOE6B902F] * World oil demand will be higher than expected next year and until 2015, the International Energy Agency said, increasing the need for crude from OPEC. The IEA, an adviser to 28 industrialized countries, in a monthly report lifted its 2011 oil demand growth forecast by 130,000 bpd to 1.32 million bpd from its previous report. [ID:nLDE6B90SB] * OPEC, which meets to set output policy on Saturday, in its monthly report left its 2011 demand growth forecast virtually unchanged. OPEC is not expected to change its official output targets at Saturday's meeting. [ID:nLAE002197] [ID:nLDE6B90JO] * The North Sea Forties crude oil stream will load around 484,000 bpd in January, down from around 523,000 bpd scheduled for December, a trade source said on Friday. [ID:nLAE002198] MARKETS NEWS * World stocks ticked higher as U.S. Treasury bonds stabilized amid prospects for economic recovery on the back of robust data for the U.S. and China. The euro held steady against the dollar. [MKTS/GLOB] [FRX/] * Copper rose on Friday, flirting with a record high from the previous session, as strong import data from top consumer China and news that its central bank opted for a milder form of monetary tightening boosted prices. [MET/L] * Gold held steady as it attracted some safe haven buying against the backdrop of Europe's debt crisis. [GOL/] UPCOMING DATA/EVENTS * Commodities Futures Trading Commission positions data at 3:30 p.m. EST (2030 GMT) on Friday. * OPEC oil ministers meet Dec. 11 in Ecuador. 9:05 LAST NET PCT LOW HIGH CURRENT DAY AGO CHNG CHNG VOL VOL CLc1 88.35 -0.02 0.0% 88.14 89.00 52,533 383,144 CLc2 88.86 -0.02 0.0% 88.66 89.48 17,548 159,818 LCOc1 91.11 0.12 0.1% 90.94 91.57 40,811 131,083 RBc1 2.3300 -0.0105 -0.5% 2.3266 2.3467 3,689 58,505 RBc2 2.3158 -0.0051 -0.2% 2.3120 2.3291 3,287 32,874 HOc1 2.4681 0.0013 0.1% 2.4641 2.483 5,522 53,754 HOc2 2.4836 0.0005 0.0% 2.4795 2.4976 3,480 23,551 * NYMEX crude oil for January CLc1 fell 2 cents to $88.35 a barrel by 9:05 a.m. in volume of 52,533 lots. (Reporting by Robert Gibbons; editing by Jim Marshall)

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