NYMEX-Crude ends up but off highs after Fed action

* U.S. Fed keeps benchmark interest rates unchanged

* EIA: crude supplies up, against API's drawdown

* Equities trim gains, dollar up after Fed statement

NEW YORK, Aug 12 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures ended
higher for the first time in four sessions on Wednesday,
although Wall Street pared gains after the Federal Reserve kept
the benchmark interest rates unchanged and extended Treasury
debt purchases.

Ending a two-day meeting, the Fed policy makers said
economic activity is leveling out and financial market
conditions have improved further. [ID:nFEDAHEAD]

Earlier, crude futures tacked in hefty gains, tracking an
advancing Wall Street and ignoring government data showing
domestic crude stocks rose more than expected last week.

Gasoline fell on a lower-than-expected supply drawdown.
Heating oil futures fell as distillate supplies rose, against
the forecast for a small drawdown.

Demand for gasoline and distillate supplies were down last
week, Energy Information Administration data showed.

U.S. stocks slightly trimmed gains after the Federal
Reserve in its policy statement said it was extending purchases
of long-term U.S. Treasury debt to the end of October.

The dollar rose against the yen and pared its decline
against the euro after the expected Federal Reserve action, but
said economic activity is leveling out and financial market
conditions have improved further. [USD/]

The Fed action, "is not at all that surprising," said Mark
Vitner, economist at Wells Fargo Advisors in Charlotte, North
Carolina. "It acknowledges a lot of what we have been seeing,
that conditions are stabilizing and the recession may be
ending."

The Atlantic could get its first named storm of the
hurricane season later Wednesday, the U.S. National Hurricane
Center said. [ID:nN12106751]

PRICES

* On the New York Mercantile Exchange, September crude
CLU9 settled up 71 cents, or 1.02 percent, at $70.16 a
barrel, trading from $68.84 to $71.13.

* In London, September Brent crude LCOU9 ended up 43
cents, or 0.59 percent, at $72.89 a barrel, trading from $71.68
to $73.52.

* NYMEX September RBOB RBU9 ended down 1.69 cents, or
0.83 percent, at $2.0253 a gallon, trading from $2.0208 to
$2.0676.

* NYMEX September heating oil HOU9 finished 1.96 cents
lower, or 1.03 percent, at $1.8921 a gallon, trading from
$1.8820 to $1.9316.

* The September/September RBOB crack spread <0#RB-CL=R>
ended at $14.90, sliding from $16.32 on Tuesday. The
September/September heating oil crack spread <0#CL-HO=R>
dropped to $9.31, from $10.84 on Tuesday.

* The spread between the current front month and the
five-year forward crude contract CLc61 ended at $16.51,
narrowing from $16.86 on Tuesday. The September 2014 contract
settled Wednesday at $86.67, up 36 cents, or 0.42 percent.

TECHNICALS

NYMEX crude 10-day/20-day moving average: $70.37/$67.88

Technical support/resistance:

NYMEX crude: $70.00/$73.38

NYMEX heating oil: $1.8800/$1.9738

NYMEX RBOB: $2.00/$2.1124

For a full report on technicals, click on [ID:nLC004132]

MARKET NEWS

* The EIA said that domestic crude stocks rose 2.5 million
barrels last week to 352 million barrels, above the forecast
for a 700,000 barrel rise in a Reuters poll. [EIA/S]

* Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub for
NYMEX-traded oil rose 300,000 barrels to 33.6 million barrels.

* Distillate stocks increased 800,000 barrels to 162.3
million barrels. The forecast was for a 200,000 barrel draw.

* Gasoline stocks fell 1.0 million barrels to 211.9 million
barrels, below the forecast for a 1.3 million barrel drawdown.

* The American Petroleum Institute's data on Tuesday showed
crude stocks down 1.4 million barrels, gasoline stocks down 2.3
million barrels and distillates up 1.6 million barrels.
[API/S]

* The U.S. trade deficit widened in June on the back of
higher oil prices. [ID:nN1287840]

* Evidence the recession bottoming out is patchy at best,
the International Energy Agency said. [ID:nLC583857]
(Reporting by Gene Ramos and Robert Gibbons; Editing by Lisa
Shumaker)