UPDATE 1-Venezuela wants minimum $80 oil price for 2010

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CARACAS, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Venezuelan Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez said on Wednesday that the OPEC nation would like to see a minimum oil price of $80 per barrel for 2010.

When asked by reporters about goals for next year, Ramirez responded: "A floor of $80 and stability."

Producer group OPEC last year agreed to a series of output reductions aimed at raising oil prices, which dropped from a record near $150 a barrel in July 2008 to below $33 a barrel in December as the recession battered fuel demand.

OPEC next meets on Dec. 22 to decide on production targets, and both Venezuela and fellow price-hawk Iran said this week that OPEC did not need to increase output then. [ID:nL492642]

Big consumer nations such as the United States have expressed concern that higher oil prices could weigh on a rebound in the global economy. (Reporting by Eyanir Chinea; Writing by Andrew Cawthorne)