* Oil remains steady near $76 per barrel
* Still headed for weekly gain of 4.6 pct
* For a technical view, click: []
* Coming up: Alcoa <AA.N> Q2 results, Monday, after close
(Recasts, updates prices)
By Brian Ellsworth
NEW YORK, July 9 (Reuters) - Oil prices held steady near
$76 per barrel on Friday, headed for a weekly increase of 4.6
percent despite profit taking that eroded earlier gains.
Crude seesawed, slipping into negative territory, after
jumping $1 per barrel to its highest intraday price this week
on a lack of major economic indicators and aimless equities
markets left oil without direction.
U.S. equities markets were little changed as investors
weighed prospects for the U.S. corporate earnings season that
unofficially kicks off on Monday after the closing bell when
aluminum producer Alcoa Inc <AA.N> reports. []
U.S. crude for August <CLc1> was down 3 cents at $75.41 a
barrel by 1:30 p.m. EST (1730 GMT) after reaching an intraday
high of $76.48. ICE Brent <LCOc1> was up 3 cents to $74.74.
"Prices have moved a lot lower from today's highs as people
are taking profits after two days of sharp gains," said Mark
Waggoner, President of Excel Futures in Bend, Oregon.
Oil in New York was set to post its biggest weekly gain
since the week of June 18, following a loss of 8.5 percent in
the previous week.
"Right now the question is, with prices above $75, is there
enough conviction among people with long positions to add to
their exposure?" said Gene McGillian and analyst with Tradition
Energy in Stamford, Connecticut.
The S&P 500 <.SPX> index was up 0.22 percent while the Dow
Jones Industrial average <> was up 0.09 percent, bouncing
from positive to negative territory in volatile, low volume
trading.
Investors often see rising equities markets as a sign of
economic growth, which generally spurs demand for oil.
U.S. crude was still below a 19-month peak above $87
reached in early May, having rebounded sharply from a trough
below $65 on May 20.
Crude inventories in the United States dropped 5 million
barrels last week, more than twice as much as expected, the
Energy Information Administration said. []
Oil markets are awaiting Chinese trade data, to be
published on Saturday, for further price direction.
Year-on-year import and export growth probably slowed last
month from the sizzling pace set in May, in large part
reflecting a higher base of comparison as the global recovery
gained strength around the middle of last year.
[]
(Additional reporting by Gene Ramos in New York, Alejandro
Barbajosa; Editing by Sue Thomas, Alison Birrane, Jim Marshall
and Sofina Mirza-Reid)
