NYMEX-Crude ends down on products supplies, economy

* EIA: crude stocks down more than expected, products jump

* IMF says recovery started, but will be sluggish

* OPEC expects long slog for demand recovery

NEW YORK, July 8 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures ended
down for the sixth straight session on Wednesday, hitting the
lowest close in seven weeks, as government data showed
larger-than-expected increases in distillate and gasoline
inventories last week.

The build in refined products overshadowed data on crude
inventories, which declined more than forecast.

Particularly bearish was the data on distillate stocks,
which include heating oil and diesel fuel, that showed
inventories were at their highest level in nearly 25 years.

"This massive distillate build is a direct reflection of
continued weakness in the industrial sector in the U.S.
economy, a dynamic that is unlikely to shift anytime soon,"
said Jim Ritterbusch, president of Ritterbusch & Associates in Galena, Illinois
.

A sharp fall on Wall Street on economic recovery worries also pressured the energy futures
markets.

Traders were already worried by news from OPEC, which said
in its 2009 World Oil Outlook that consumption of its crude
would not return to 31 million barrels per day -- the level it
averaged in 2008 before the economic crisis dampened oil use --
until 2013. [ID:nWLA8490]

OPEC expects global demand to fall to 84.2 million bpd this
year from 85.6 million bpd last year.

On Wall Street, stock indexes fell on lingering worries
about the state of the economy and the uncertain outlook of
second quarter corporate earnings. [.N]

Meanwhile, the dollar and yen climbed broadly as risk
aversion rose on doubts about the global economic recovery and
jitters ahead of release of U.S. corporate earnings. [USD/]

The International Monetary Fund said the global economy was
starting to pull out recession, but recovery will be sluggish.
[ID:nWEQ001177]

PRICES

* On the New York Mercantile Exchange, August crude CLQ9
settled down $2.79, or 4.43 pct, at $60.14 a barrel, the
lowest close since May 19's $59.65. It traded from $60.01 to
$62.68.

* The June 30 peak of $73.38 was the highest intraday
front-month crude oil price since crude hit $75.69 on Oct. 21.

* In London, August Brent crude LCOQ9 settled $2.80
lower, or 4.43 percent, at $60.43 a barrel, the lowest close
since May 25's $60.21. It traded from $60.30 to $63.13.

* NYMEX August RBOB RBQ9 settled down 9.95 cents, or 5.74
percent, at $1.6333 a gallon, the lowest close since May 6's
$1.6280. It traded from $1.6290 to $1.72.

* NYMEX August heating oil HOQ9 ended down 6.28 cents, or
3.92 percent, at $1.5379 a gallon, the lowest since May 21's
$1.5294. It traded from $1.5324 to $1.5910.

* The August/August RBOB crack spread <0#RB-CL=R> was at
$9.06, after ending at $9.85 on Tuesday. The August/August
heating oil crack spread <0#CL-HO=R> was at $4.22, after ending
at $4.30 on Tuesday.

* The spread between the current front month and the
five-year forward crude contract CLc61 was at $17.86,
widening from $16.61 on Tuesday. The August 2014 contract
settled at $78, down $1.54, or 1.94 percent.

TECHNICALS

NYMEX crude 10-day/20-day moving average: $67.50/$69.01

Technical support/resistance:

NYMEX crude: $61.25/$64.35

NYMEX heating oil: $1.5420/$1.6320

NYMEX RBOB: $1.6050/$1.7560

For a full report on technicals, click on [ID:nL8618476]

MARKET NEWS

* The EIA said crude oil inventories fell 2.9 million
barrels to 347.3 million barrels last week. The forecast in a
Reuters poll was for a decline of 2.4 million barrels. [EIA/S]

* Stocks at the the NYMEX delivery hub in Cushing,
Oklahoma, were up 1.6 million barrels at 30.2 million barrels.

* Gasoline stocks rose 1.9 million barrels to 213.1 million
barrels. The forecast was for a 600,000-barrel increase.

* Distillate stocks, which include heating oil and diesel
fuel, jumped 3.7 million barrels to 158.7 million barrels, the
highest level since the week to Dec. 28, 1984, when supplies
hit $159.5 million barrels. The forecast was for a build of 2
million barrels.

* Refinery utilization edged down 0.2 percentage point to
86.8 percent of capacity. The forecast was for an 0.1
percentage point drop.

* The API said Tuesday that crude stocks fell 1.4 million
barrels last week, gasoline stocks rose 767,000 barrels and
distillate supplies jumped 3.4 million barrels. [API/S]
(Reporting by Gene Ramos and Robert Gibbons; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)