NYMEX-Crude little changed below $75 after API data

                                
 TOKYO, Jan 27 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures stood little
changed below $75 a barrel on Wednesday after industry data
showed a surprise drawdown in U.S. crude inventories last week.
                                
 FUNDAMENTALS
                                
 * NYMEX crude for March delivery <CLc1> was down 13 cents at
$74.58 a barrel by 0028 GMT, after settling down 55 cents a day
earlier. Crude hit a trough of $73.82 on Tuesday, its lowest
since Dec. 22.
                                
 * The American Petroleum Institute said after settlement on
Tuesday that U.S. crude stocks fell 2.2 million barrels, against
expectations of a 1.4 million barrel rise in a Reuters poll.
                                
 U.S. distillate stocks dropped 2.0 million barrels, and
gasoline stocks rose 916,000 barrels, the data showed, which was
mostly in line with expectations. [API/S]
                                
 * Tuesday's decline came after a credit clampdown in China
and weak U.S. home prices data raised concerns about economic
recovery and a potential rebound in energy demand.
                                
 * Traders were also waiting for the U.S. Federal Reserve's
policy decision due later in the day, but the Fed is not expected
to indicate that it will raise its benchmark interest rate any
time soon.
                                
 * An oil spill that shut a key industrial waterway in Port
Arthur, Texas, has not prompted refiners in the area to seek
loans from the emergency U.S. oil stockpile, the U.S. Department
of Energy said on Tuesday. [ID:nN26102990]
                                
 The Sabine-Neches Waterway, which links crude oil supplies
from the Gulf of Mexico to refineries at Port Arthur and
Beaumont, was shut on Saturday after a tanker collided with a
barge tow, spilling an estimated 11,000 barrels (462,000 gallons)
of oil.
                                
 MARKETS NEWS
                                
 * U.S. stocks edged higher as the better-than-expected
consumer confidence data helped erase losses and pulled crude off
early lows.
                                
 * The yen and the U.S. dollar were broadly firm on Wednesday
as investors unwound risky trades on concerns that a global
recovery could slow and as many turned cautious ahead of a U.S.
Federal Reserve policy announcement. [USD/]
                                
 DATA/EVENTS
                                
 * The following data is expected on Wednesday:
                                
 - 0745 GMT--France Consumer Confidence/Jan
                                
 - 1500 GMT--U.S. New Home Sales/Dec.
                                
 - 1700 GMT--Chicago Midwest Bus Survey/Dec
                                
 - 1915 GMT--FOMC meeting result
                                
 RELATED NEWS
> WSI sees more active hurricane season in 2010    [nNYS007728]
> Planalytics sees cold weather returning to U.S.  [nN26116977]
> Motiva assesses fire damage at Norco crude unit  [nN2682575]
                                
 PRICES
 Oil prices as of 0028 GMT          
 Contract Mnth    Price  Change  Day ago     pct     MA-20*
 NYMEX Contracts
 US Crude MAR0   $74.58   -0.13   -$0.55  -0.73%     $79.29
 Heat Oil FEB0   195.00   -0.08    -1.50  -0.76%     209.11
 RBOB     FEB0   197.14   +0.40    -3.34  -1.67%     206.10
 Natgas   FEB0   $5.420  -0.065  -$0.237  -4.14%     $5.696
 ICE Contracts
 Brent    MAR0       --   +0.00   -$0.40  -0.54%     $77.90
 Gasoil   FEB0       --   +0.00   +$2.00  +0.34%    $633.11
 Note: U.S. heating oil and RBOB gasoline contracts listed in
cents per gallon.
 * = 20-day moving average for continuation month.
 (Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori)