(Reuters) - Oil edged up toward $83 on Wednesday after China's crude imports jumped last month, while a weaker dollar and expectations of further policy easing in the United States burnished the appeal of commodities for investors.
U.S. crude for November rose $1.07 to $82.74 a barrel by 1302 GMT, just over a dollar shy of last week's five-month highs at $84. November ICE Brent was 81 cents up at $84.31.
Price support came from data showing that China, which the International Energy Agency said has overtaken the U.S. as the world's largest energy consumer, saw a record 35 percent increase in September crude oil imports from a year earlier.
U.S. futures pointed to a positive open on Wall Street on hopes of further money printing and supported by consensus-beating third quarter earnings from JP Morgan (JPM.N).
The dollar .DXY was 0.3 percent down on concerns about a second round of quantitative easing, commonly referred to as QE2, in the United States.
"QE2 is influencing prices via the U.S. dollar, on expectations that further easing will push the dollar lower and send oil rising," Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch said.
"Expectations for further cheap liquidity are also good for commodities and oil markets on expectations there will be more money available to invest in the markets."
Gold, which like crude prices typically trades in inverse relation to the U.S. dollar, rose to one-week highs at $1,357.8 an ounce.
Oil ministers arriving in Vienna for an OPEC meeting on Thursday, the first in seven months, signaled the producer group would keep output targets steady. Saudi Arabia's Ali al-Naimi on Monday described the oil market as "well balanced.
The Chinese trade data also raised expectation demand would drain bloated inventories. Forecasts show U.S. crude inventories rose last week, while stockpiles of oil products fell.
Robust growth in the world's emerging economies, particularly China, may be sufficient to save the rest of the world from a double-dip recession, IEA chief economist Fatih Birol said on Tuesday.
"Support is also coming from the strong imports in China," said Fritsch, "but it is still not strong enough to justify prices above $80. Demand is still rather lackluster."
Other analysts noted the strong Chinese demand was price supportive, but said it was unlikely to be a game-changer ahead of the OPEC's meeting on Thursday.
"Data from China is positive," said Frank Schallenberger, head of commodity research at LBBW. "But no data from China will change the outcome of the OPEC meeting."
Investors also eyed the continued strike in France, which workers said halted supplies from most of its oil refineries.
