NYMEX-Crude dips on recovery worry as Wall St slips

* EIA: Crude, distillate, gasoline stocks down

* Wall Street slips on home building data

* Dollar down after biggest rally in 3 weeks

NEW YORK, Nov 18 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures' gains
evaporated midday on Wednesday on economic recovery doubts,
taking a cue from Wall Street's slide on bleak homebuilding
data.

The dollar was moving off its session lows against a basket
of currencies, helping put pressure on crude futures.

Earlier, front-month December crude CLZ9 rose above $80
after the government reported that domestic crude stocks fell
last week. The data showed, however, that the stock drawdown
was much smaller than the decline in industry data released
late on Tuesday. [EIA/S]

"With the trading range preserved, there is some technical
selling," said Mike Fitzpatrick, vice president at MF Global in
New York.

Heating oil futures went negative as the data from the
Energy Information Administration showed that, while distillate
stocks fell, the heating oil component rose. [EIA/S]

Gasoline futures also fell, moving in line with crude
futures, after rising as the EIA data showed a drawdown,
against forecasts that stock levels would be unchanged.

"Investors are losing hope in the prospects for a recovery
in U.S. oil demand, and last month's rally in U.S. refiners has
largely faded off," said Credit Suisse Global Energy in a
commentary on the EIA data.

At 1:20 p.m. EST (1820 GMT), the dollar was down 0.34
percent, at 75.116 points, against a basket of major currencies
.DXY, after falling earlier to 74.898. It fell earlier on
profit-taking after the biggest rally in three weeks, as
investors bet U.S. interest rates will remain low well into
2010. [USD/]

Wall Street fell on worrisome outlooks from major software
makers and as a surprise drop in new home construction last
month prompted concern about the strength of an economic
recovery. [.N]

Construction of new homes in the United States hit a
six-month low in October, providing more evidence of the
economy's sluggish recovery, while a surge in the cost of new
and used vehicles lifted consumer prices. [ID:nN1899353]

PRICES

* On the New York Mercantile Exchange, at 1:20 p.m. EST
(1820 GMT), December crude CLZ9 was down 31 cents, or 0.39
percent, at $78.83 a barrel, trading from $78.67 to $80.33.

* The NYMEX December crude contract expires on Friday.

* In London, January Brent crude LCOF0 was down 20 cents,
or 0.25 percent, at $78.77 a barrel, trading from $78.67 to
$80.14.

* NYMEX December RBOB RBZ9 was down 0.32 cent, or 0.16
percent, at $2.0017 a gallon, trading from $1.9970 to $2.0522.

* NYMEX December heating oil HOZ9 was down 2.31 cents, or
1.12 percent, at $2.0354 a gallon, trading from $2.0328 to
$2.0909.

* The December/December RBOB crack spread <0#RB-CL=R> was
at $5.24, after ending at $5.07 on Tuesday. The
December/December heating oil crack spread <0#CL-HO=R> was at
$6.66, after ending at $7.32 on Tuesday.

* The spread between the current front month and the
five-year forward crude contract CLc61 was at $14.18, based
on the December 2014 contract Tuesday settlement at $93.01. The
spread ended Tuesday at $13.87.

TECHNICALS

NYMEX crude 10-day/20-day moving average: $78.62/$78.93

Technical support/resistance:

NYMEX crude: $76/$80

NYMEX heating oil: $2.00/$2.1289

NYMEX RBOB: $2.00/$2.10

For a full report on technicals, click on [ID:nLI106850]

MARKET NEWS

* Domestic crude stocks fell 900,000 barrels to 336.8
million barrels last week, EIA data showed, larger than the
forecast for a 300,000-barrel drawdown in a Reuters poll but
much smaller than the 4.4 million-barrel drop in API data.

* Gasoline stocks fell 1.7 million barrels to 209.1 million
barrels, bigger than the API's 1 million-barrel drawdown and
against the forecast for supplies to have been unchanged.

* Distillate stocks fell 300,000 barrels to 167.4 million
barrels, lower than the forecast for a 700,000-barrel drop, but
against the API's report of a 500,000-barrel increase.

* API said on Tuesday that crude oil stocks fell 4.4 million
barrels, with gasoline inventories off 963,000 barrels and
distillate stocks up 507,000 barrels. [API/S]

* U.S. consumer prices rose more than expected in October,
chiefly from increases in energy and motor vehicle costs,
according to government data. [ID:nN1880362]
(Reporting by Gene Ramos and Robert Gibbons; Editing by Lisa
Shumaker)