NYMEX-Crude rises on Nigeria, Wall St. rise, mogas

* Wall Street extends gains on economic hopes

* RBOB up more than 3 pct on crack spread buying

NEW YORK, June 25 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures rose
sharply on Thursday, jumping above $70 a barrel on supply snags
in Nigeria, optimism about economic recovery fueling Wall
Street and a rally in gasoline futures.

Crude oil futures bounced early from Wednesday's loss on
news that a main militant group had sabotaged a Royal Dutch
Shell (RDSa.L) oil pipeline in Nigeria on Thursday, the latest
in a string of attacks. [ID:nLP466226]

"You had Nigeria and spill over strength from equities and
gasoline stronger on the Baytown Exxon snag," said Jim
Ritterbusch, president at Ritterbusch & Associates in Galena,
Illinois.

Front month July RBOB gasoline RBN9 surged more than 3
percent. Also supportive for gasoline was news of "operational
issues" at Exxon Mobil's giant Baytown, Texas, refinery.

Earlier economic news was mixed, but on Wall Street, shares
of retailers and home builders rose, helping equities advance.

Equities investors also leaned on a final reading of
first-quarter gross domestic product as they shook off data
showing an unexpected rise in initial jobless benefit claims
last week. [.N]

PRICES

* On the New York Mercantile Exchange at 2:12 p.m EDT (1812
GMT), August crude CLQ9 was up $1.83, or 2.66 percent, at
$70.50 a barrel, trading from $68.11 to $70.93.

* In London, August Brent crude LCOQ9 was up $1.70, or
2.49 percent, at $70.03 a barrel, trading from $68.05 to
$70.51.

* NYMEX July RBOB RBN9 rose 6.15 cents, or 3.34 percent,
to $1.9040 a gallon, trading from $1.84 to $1.9243.

* NYMEX July heating oil HON9 gained 4.50 cents, or 2.59
percent, to hit $1.7831 a gallon, trading from $1.7336 to
$1.7982.

* The August/August RBOB crack spread <0#RB-CL=R> was at
$9.77, after ending at $9.03 on Wednesday. The August/August
heating oil crack spread <0#CL-HO=R> was at $6.47, after ending
at $6.20 on Wednesday.

* The spread between the current front month and the
five-year forward crude contract CLc61 was at $13.34, based
on the August 2014 contract Wednesday settlement at $83.84. The
spread ended on Wednesday at $15.17.

TECHNICALS

NYMEX crude 10-day/20-day moving average: $69.90/$69.39

Technical support/resistance:

NYMEX crude: $66.75/$69.40

NYMEX heating oil: $1.6856/$1.7694

NYMEX RBOB: $1.82/$1.87

For a report on technicals click [ID:nLP004404]

MARKET NEWS

* OPEC seaborne oil exports, excluding Angola and Ecuador,
will fall 290,000 barrels per day in the four weeks to July 11,
said Roy Mason, an analyst at UK consultancy Oil Movements, in
his latest weekly estimate.

* U.S. gross domestic product fell at a 5.5 percent annual
rate in the first quarter, slightly less than previously
thought, the government reported, though there was weakness in
activity and demand was soft. [ID:nLP911052]

* Exxon Mobil reported some operational issues at its
562,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Baytown, Texas, which caused
flaring, a spokeswoman for the company said. The hydrocracker
unit at the refinery is still down for work. The unit was shut
for repairs on June 18. [ID:nN25267604]

* Nigeria's Warri refinery in the Niger Delta was shut down
last week after a militant attack shut one of its crude oil
supply pipelines late last month, state-run NNPC said on
Thursday. [ID:nLP12655]
(Reporting by Robert Gibbons and Gene Ramos; Editing by
Christian Wiessner)