* Housing starts data for June better than expected
* Valero may keep Texas coker idled on poor margins
NEW YORK, July 17 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures rose on Friday as
better-than-expected housing start data lifted off earlier lows, with a
strong move by RBOB gasoline futures also helping push the oil futures
complex higher.
"Looks like some initial profit taking after good rally on the week.
Certainly dollar strength was part of the early decline," said Tom Bentz,
analyst at BNP Paribas Commodities Futures Inc.
"Stocks also were a bit weaker as caution returns ahead of earnings.
Then June housing starts came in 3.6 percent, better than expected.
providing a bounce off lows," Bentz added.
New U.S. housing starts and permits jumped more than expected in June,
propelled by a rise in single-family homes, a government report showed.
[ID:nN17472008]
U.S. stocks opened little changed on as the upbeat housing data
counteracted worry over the quality of corporate profits from General
Electric Co (GE.N) and Google Inc (GOOG.O), but later in the session stocks
went lower. [.N]
PRICES
* On the New York Mercantile Exchange at 10:40 a.m EDT (1440 GMT),
August crude CLQ9 was up $1.34, or 2.16 percent, at $63.36 a barrel,
trading from $61.04 to $63.71.
* Sources said buy stops above $63 were triggered.
* In London, September Brent crude LCOU9 rose $1.32, or 2.07 percent,
to $65.07 a barrel, trading from $62.81 to $65.48. August Brent LCOQ9
expired on Thursday, going off the board at $62.75 a barrel.
* NYMEX August RBOB RBQ9 rose 4.75 cents, or 2.77 percent to $1.7610
a gallon, trading from $1.6970 to $1.7684.
* NYMEX August heating oil HOQ9 rose 3.76 cents, or 2.35 percent, to
$1.6370 a gallon, trading from $1.5746 to $1.6454.
* The August/August RBOB crack spread <0#RB-CL=R> was at $10.58 after
ending at $9.95 on Thursday. The August/August heating oil crack spread
<0#CL-HO=R> was at $5.33, after ending at $5.15 on Thursday.
* The spread between the current front month and the five-year forward
crude contract CLc61 was at $18.38, based on the August 2014 contract
Thursday settlement at $81.12. The spread ended Thursday at $19.72.
TECHNICALS
NYMEX crude 10-day/20-day moving average: $61.19/$65.15
Technical support/resistance:
NYMEX crude: $60.29/$62.34
NYMEX heating oil: $1.5561/$1.6291
NYMEX RBOB: $1.6831/$1.7504
For a full report on technicals, click on [ID:nLH104676]
MARKET NEWS
* The dollar firmed after a mixed batch of U.S. corporate earnings
raised some concern about the economy and enhanced the dollar's safe-haven
appeal. [USD/]
* Angola will export more crude oil in September than in August and
well above its implied OPEC target. [ID:nLH72308]
* China's refiners boosted output by 6 percent in June to a record high
after a rise in domestic motor fuel prices aided margins, although higher
inventories and rising exports suggested domestic demand was lagging.
[ID:nPEK72919]
* Valero Energy Corp (VLO.N) said a coking unit undergoing planned work
at its Corpus Christi, Texas, refinery likely will not be restarted until
margins improve. [ID:nN17326755]
* Bombs ripped through two luxury hotels in the heart of Indonesia's
capital on Friday. [ID:nSP462178]
(Reporting by Robert Gibbons; Editing by John Picinich)
