* August crude oil options expired
* Brent crude oil contract expired
NEW YORK, July 16 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures ended
a seesaw session higher on Thursday, bouncing late with
equities markets after conflicting data about economic recovery
kept trading choppy.
Adding to the volatility was the expiration of August crude
oil options.
"Another late rally and coinciding with an S&P 500 rally,
although it's arguable who's watching whom more closely," said
Tim Evans, analyst at Citi Futures Perspective in New York.
U.S. stocks rose for a fourth day after JPMorgan's strong
results added to optimism about quarterly earnings that also
boosted technology shares. [.N]
Mike Fitzpatrick, vice president at MF Global in New York,
said the market was trying to decide how high oil prices can
rise before recovery is choked off, adding "$60 is the fulcrum
balancing the price lever that tips whenever one contention or
another is bolstered by news or economic data."
PRICES
* On the New York Mercantile Exchange, August crude CLQ9
rose 48 cents, or 0.78 percent, to settle at $62.02 a barrel.
Trading ranged from $60.29 to $62.18.
* NYMEX September crude CLU9 settled at $63.06, also up
48 cents, leaving the Aug/Sep spread at $1.04.
* In London, expiring August Brent crude LCOQ9 fell 34
cents, or 0.54 percent, to settle at $62.75 a barrel, trading
from $61.99 to $63.30.
* September Brent LCOU9 settled at $63.75, up 23 cents.
* NYMEX August RBOB RBQ9 rose 0.54 cent, or 0.32 percent
to settle at $1.7135 a gallon, trading from $1.6807 to
$1.7197.
* NYMEX August heating oil HOQ9 rose 1.09 cents, or 1.09
percent, to settle at $1.5994 a gallon, trading from $1.5585 to
$1.6080.
* The August/August RBOB crack spread <0#RB-CL=R> ended at
$9.95, after ending at $10.20 on Wednesday. The August/August
heating oil crack spread <0#CL-HO=R> ended at $5.15, after
ending at $4.91 on Wednesday.
* The spread between the current front month and the
five-year forward crude contract CLc61 ended at $19.72, based
on the August 2014 contract Thursday settlement at $81.74. The
spread ended Wednesday at $19.08.
TECHNICALS
NYMEX crude 10-day/20-day moving average: $63.35/$66.58
Technical support/resistance:
NYMEX crude: $61.61/$65.60
NYMEX heating oil: $1.54/$1.6242
NYMEX RBOB: $1.6621/$1.7541
For a full report on technicals, click on [ID:nLG115707]
MARKET NEWS
* U.S. Mid-Atlantic region shrank for the 10th consecutive
month in July, a worse-than-expected decline. [ID:nN16411053]
* OPEC seaborne oil exports will fall 190,000 barrels per
day in the four weeks to August 1. [ID:nWLA9211]
* The dollar touched a six-week low against a basket of
major currencies as JPMorgan results helped offset weak
manufacturing data and anxiety about bank earnings. [USD/]
* China's annual gross domestic product growth accelerated
in the second quarter to 7.9 percent from 6.1 percent in the
first quarter. [ID:nSP537798]
* U.S. oil demand in June fell 5.4 percent from year-ago,
the American Petroleum Institute said. [ID:nWEQ001209]
* Oil product inventories stored in independent tanks in
the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp area rose to an all-time high
in the week ending Thursday because of weak demand for middle
distillates. [ID:nLN035053]
(Reporting by Robert Gibbons; Editing by David Gregorio)
