* China pipeline, port, refinery snags supportive to oil
* Home builder sentiment down, weighs on stocks, curbs oil
* Coming up: U.S. August crude contract expiration Tuesday
(Recasts, updates prices, market activity and changes
byline/dateline from previous LONDON)
NEW YORK, July 19 (Reuters) - U.S. oil prices rose for the
first time in four sessions as Wall Street posted a stronger
open and as a pipeline blast in China shut a key oil port and
curbed refinery output.
However, oil gave back much of its gains as U.S. stocks
seesawed, lifted by news from Halliburton and Boeing but
dragged down as a homebuilder index fell to its lowest point in
more than a year, sparking new fears about the pace of a
recovery and demand for oil. [] []
U.S. crude oil for August delivery <CLc1> on the New York
Mercantile Exchange rallied $1.68 to an early intraday peak of
$77.69 before easing back to trade at $76.20 a barrel, up 19
cents, by 12:12 p.m. EDT (1612 GMT).
The contract settled 61 cents lower at $76.01 on Friday, a
third consecutive drop but ending little changed from the
previous week.
London ICE Brent crude <LCOc1> on Monday gained 5 cents to
to $75.42, well off its earlier $77.20 peak.
"The stronger open on Wall Street appears to have triggered
some fund buying," said Eugen Weinberg, head of commodities
research at Commerzbank in Frankfurt.
The euro hovered near a two-month high against the dollar
on Monday, rebounding from lows hit after a downgrade of
Ireland's sovereign ratings. Despite the euro strength, the
dollar index <.DXY> managed a gain.
Oil prices and the stock market were weighed down late last
week by concerns about the pace of economic growth and gloomy
consumer sentiment.
Refined products and crude oil futures were supported by
the pipeline explosion and oil spill that shut China's port at
Dalian and forcing refinery cuts. []
"The pipeline blast in China shutting the port and forcing
refinery cuts is being seen as supportive, probably helping
boost refined products futures," said Richard Ilczyszyn, senior
market strategist at Lind-Waldock in Chicago.
PetroChina <0857.HK>, which operates two refineries in
Dalian, has started trimming refinery operations to cope with
the port closure. As many as six Very Large Crude Carriers, or
12 million barrels of crude oil, are set to be diverted from
the port. []
Reports of minor refinery snags in the United States
[] added to the strength of products futures, traders
said.
The U.S. August crude contract expires on Tuesday, also
helping to keep trading choppy as market participants adjust
positions before the September contract takes over the
front-month spot, trading sources said.
VOLATILITY
Implied volatility for U.S. crude <CLATMIV> has fallen to
about 30 percent over the last month as prices have stabilized
around $75 per barrel, which is in the middle of a $75 to $80
price range many oil producers have said they prefer.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Technical view of oil prices: []
Column: Producer hedges weigh on crude market
[]
Graphic of U.S. Light Crude Oil futures prices this year
showing At The Money Implied Volatility:
http://link.reuters.com/nuc38m
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
Technical analysts keying off price charts see strong
support for August U.S. crude futures from the 50-day moving
average at $74.31 and solid overhead resistance at the 200-day
moving average at $77.51 and trend line resistance just above
that in the $77.50/$77.80 area.
(Reporting by Robert Gibbons; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
(Additional reporting by Christopher Johnson in London and
Fayen Wong in Perth)
