NYMEX-Crude ends higher, expecting OPEC output cut

NEW YORK, Oct 23 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures rose on
Thursday, bouncing ahead of Friday's OPEC meeting expected to
result in a production cut.

Trading was choppy and crude's gains were limited by
ongoing concerns about a slowing economy that also pressured
equities markets and fueled fears of more curbed demand for
oil.

Refined products futures ended mixed, with heating oil
lower.

"Right now, crude futures are moving with the stock market,
although obviously people are expecting OPEC's meeting to
decide on a production cut," said Phil Flynn, analyst at Alaron
Trading.

"The market is a bit oversold and OPEC is meeting tomorrow
so we may be seeing some short-covering," said Tom Bentz,
analyst at BNP Paribas Commodity Futures Inc, commenting on the
earlier gains in crude futures.

PRICES

* On the New York Mercantile Exchange, December crude
CLZ8 rose $1.09, or 1.63 percent, to settle at $67.84 a
barrel, trading from $65.90 to $69.41.

* In London, December Brent LCOZ8 rose $1.40, or 2.17
percent, to settle at $65.92 a barrel, trading from $64 to
$67.40.

* NYMEX November RBOB RBX8 rose 0.69 cent, or 0.44
percent, to settle at $1.5778 a gallon, trading from $1.54 to
$1.6077.

* NYMEX November heating oil HOX8 slipped 0.68 cents, or
0.33 percent, to settle at $2.0297 a gallon, trading $2.0170 to
$2.0851.

* The December heating oil crack spread <0#CL-HO=R> was at
$18.45 a barrel, and the RBOB crack spread <0#RB-CL=R> was in
negative territory at minus $2.79.

TECHNICALS

NYMEX crude 10-day/20-day moving average: $73.39/$83.88

Technical support/resistance:

NYMEX crude: $62.64/$68.78

NYMEX heating oil: $1.9875/$2.2775

NYMEX RBOB: $1.5520/$1.8615

For a report on oil market technicals click [ID:nLN26325]
MARKET NEWS

* OPEC ministers have yet to reach a consensus an output
cut, OPEC President Chakib Khelil said. [ID:nLN446263]

* The market will determine the price of crude, said Saudi
Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi. [ID:nVAT000337]

* OPEC needs to cut its oil output by 2 million bpd,
Iranian Oil Minister Gholamhossein Nozari said. [ID:nLN733963]

* Qatar's Energy Minister Abdullah al-Attiyah said OPEC
needs to cut supply by at least 1 million bpd. [ID:nVAT000341]

* Colonial froze shipping volumes on its main distillate
pipeline for cycle 60. [ID:nN23437769]

* U.S. stocks fell in volatile action on worries about the
prospects for the global economy and concern about corporate
profit outlooks. [.N]

* The dollar climbed to a fresh two-year high versus the
euro and a basket of currencies in choppy trade. [USD/]

* The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless
benefits rose by a larger-than-expected 15,000 last week,
government data on Thursday showed. [ID:nN22489328]

* The U.S. Energy Information Administration's data on
Wednesday showed crude oil and products inventories rose last
week, with demand well below year-ago levels. [EIA/S]

* For a list of top energy news stories, click [TOP/O]
(Reporting by Robert Gibbons and Gene Ramos)