NYMEX-Crude down on dollar bounce, profit-taking

NEW YORK, Oct 22 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures ended
lower on Thursday as the dollar rebounded and as traders
pocketed profits after a rally to $82 a barrel, highest in a
year, on Wednesday.

The dollar rose, making commodities investors cautious,
and the euro retreated from a 14-month high as most investors
bet the greenback's recent sharp slide against major currencies
went too far, too fast. [USD/]

Crude oil pared losses in late trading after the Dow Jones
Industrials Average .DJI strengthened on blue-chip and
financial companies' earnings, helping ease some economic
worries in the oil markets. [.N]

"The market traded in middling fashion all day with a
hangover from the previous day's spike. Then the bulls moved in
after 2 p.m. (EDT) to squeeze the market higher," said Stephen
Schork, editor of the Schork Report in Villanova,
Pennsylvania.

Early bearish news on the labor front weighed on oil
futures. The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for
unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week,
according to a Labor Department report. [ID:nN22534549]

But a weekly guage of U.S. economic prospects was
positive.

Oil futures fell after Wednesday's surge to $82 a barrel,
the highest since Oct. 14, 2008, when oil hit $84.83.

"We are seeing a little bit of profit-taking here as crude
oil futures are now correcting after they broke out of the
long-standing range of $65-$75 and went up in an almost
vertical move to $82, said Andy Lebow, broker at MF Global in
New York:

Prices had risen on Wednesday as a weak dollar attracted
commodities buying and government oil inventory data showed a
sharp drop in gasoline supplies and a smaller-than-expected
rise in crude oil stocks. [EIA/S]

PRICES

* On the New York Mercantile Exchange, December crude
CLZ9 settled down 18 cents, or 0.22 percent, at $81.19 a
barrel, trading from $79.86 to $81.50.

* In London, December Brent crude LCOZ9 ended down 18
cents as well, or 0.23 percent, at $79.51 a barrel, trading
from $78.30 to $79.93.

* NYMEX November RBOB RBX9 finished 1.01 cents lower, or
0.49 percent, at $2.0442, a gallon, trading from $2.0001 to
$2.0515.

* NYMEX November heating oil HOX9 ended down 1.07 cents,
or 0.51 percent, at $2.0946 a gallon, trading from $2.0644 to
$2.1107.

* The December/December RBOB crack spread <0#RB-CL=R> ended
at $4.89, after ending at $5.38 on Wednesday. The
December/December heating oil crack spread <0#CL-HO=R> ended at
$8.03, down from $8.28 on Wednesday.

* The spread between the current front month and the
five-year forward crude contract CLc61 ended near flat at
$11.06, from $11.07 on Wednesday. The December 2014 contract
settled Thursday at $92.25, down 19 cents, or 0.21 percent.

TECHNICALS

NYMEX crude 10-day/20-day moving average: $75.22/$71.41

Technical support/resistance:

NYMEX crude: $77.64/$82.00

NYMEX heating oil: $2.0618/$2.1488

NYMEX RBOB: $2.0075/$2.1011

For a full report on technicals, click on [ID:nLM642633]

MARKET NEWS

* Total Petrochemical (TOTF.PA) reported a plant-wide power
failure which shut all units at its 174,000 barrel per day Port
Arthur, Texas refinery on Thursday, according to a company
environmental filing. [ID:nN22535211]

* OPEC seaborne oil exports, excluding Angola and Ecuador,
will rise 90,000 barrels per day in the four weeks to Nov. 7,
British consultancy Oil Movements said in its latest weekly
estimate. [ID:nWLA6393]

* OPEC could raise oil output in December if crude oil
prices top $100 per barrel in coming months, a source close to
OPEC president Angola said. [ID:nLM143949]

* The U.S. Labor Department said the number of mass layoff
actions -- defined as job cuts involving at least 50 people
from a single employer -- dropped by 129, to 2,561 in September
from August, affecting 248,006 workers. [ID:nN22139084]

* An index of the U.S. economy's prospects rose for a
sixth-straight month in September to a two-year high, the
Conference Board reported, suggesting the U.S. recovery was
building steam. [ID:nN22198158]

* Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp hub gasoline inventories fell
over the past week on exports opportunities to the United
States, Dutch oil analyst Pieter Kulsen said. [ID:nLM98732]
(Reporting by Gene Ramos and Robert Gibbons; Editing by David
Gregorio)