NYMEX-Crude choppy, off lows on dollar, LOOP

* Wall Street down on jobless data, Fed survey

* Euro, sterling rise to session highs vs dollar

NEW YORK, May 21 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures pared
losses in choppy trading Thursday afternoon as technical
support at the $60 held and as news of a temporary shutdown of
the only deepwater oil port in the nation compelled traders to
trade defensively.

The U.S. dollar lost ground as the euro and sterling rose
to session highs, also supporting crude futures.

Crude futures earlier fell more than $2 on some
profit-taking after prices shot up to a six-month high above
$62 on Wednesday on large crude and gasoline inventory
drawdowns last week.

"The $60 technical support area held and so crude futures
have not fallen more deeply. The stock market also appears
resilient...it's not falling out of bed, although we saw some
economic issues out there earlier today," said Phil Flynn,
analyst at Alaron Trading in Chicago.

"Also, stormy weather has forced temporary closure of the
LOOP in Louisiana and that's also supportive," Flynn added.

The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port said it halted offshore
tanker unloading Thursday morning amid winds and high seas
caused by a storm front. The halt is expected to last less than
24 hours and LOOP will continue onshore deliveries of crude oil
as normal. [ID:nN21281413]

PRICES

* On the New York Mercantile Exchange at 1:25 p.m. EDT
(1725 GMT), July crude CLN9 was down $1.27, or 2.01 percent,
at $60.78 a barrel, trading from $59.92 to $61.87.

* Wednesday's $62.26 intraday high was the highest since
$62.28 set on Nov. 11, 2008.

* In London, July Brent crude LCON9 was down 89 cents, or
1.47 percent, at $59.70 a barrel, trading from $58.83 to
$60.68.

* NYMEX June RBOB RBM9 was down 3.47 cents, or !.92
percent,a t$1.7748 a gallon, trading from $1.7424 to $1.8050.

* NYMEX June heating oil HOM9 was down 2 cents, or 1.3
percent,a t $1.5211 a gallon, trading from $1.4937 to $1.5360.

* The July/July RBOB crack spread <0#RB-CL=R> was at
$12.83, down from $12.67 at the close on Wednesday. The
July/July heating oil crack spread <0#CL-HO=R> was at $4.14,
after ending at $2.69 on Wednesday.

* The spread between the current front month and the
five-year forward crude contract CLc61 was at $15.11, based
on the July 2014 contract settlement on Wednesday at $75.89.
The spread ended at $13.85 on Wednesday.

TECHNICALS

NYMEX crude 10-day/20-day moving average: $59.04/$55.93

Technical support/resistance:

NYMEX crude: $60.00/$63.00

NYMEX heating oil: $1.4635/$1.5730

NYMEX RBOB: $1.7090/1.8330

For a report on technicals click [ID:nLL848824]

MARKET NEWS

* The euro and sterling extended gains against the u.S.
dollar to briefly touch session lows. [USD/]

* U.S. stocks slid as signs of further job market weakness
and a disappointing Fed regional survey added to doubts that
the economy was set for quick recovery.[.N]

* The 2009 Atlantic hurricane season will be fairly average
with as many as seven hurricanes expected to form, U.S.
government forecasters predicted on Thursday. [ID:nN21274286]

* Sunoco Inc (SUN.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said a gasoline-making fluid catalytic
cracker remained down and crude rates were still cut on
Thursday at its 178,000 barrel-per-day refinery in Marcus Hook,
Pennsylvania following a fire on Sunday. [ID:nN21330996]

* The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless
aid fell 12,000 last week, Labor Department data showed, while
continued claims rose to a fresh record. [ID:nN20527102]

* OPEC oil exporters are expected to agree next week to
keep production levels unchanged as rising prices have eased
pressure on budgets and there are hints of economic recovery
over the next year, a Reuters poll showed. [ID: nLL182940 ]

* A forward-looking measure of the U.S. economy in April
posted its first rise since June 2008, the Conference Board,
private research firm, said on Thursday, suggesting a pickup in
growth in the second half of 2009. [ID:nN21260248]
(Reporting by Gene Ramos and Robert Gibbons; Editing by David
Gregorio)