NYMEX-Crude slips, choppy on demand, geopolitics

NEW YORK, Jan 8 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures edged lower in
seesaw trading Thursday as oil markets weighed disappointing U.S. retail
sales, especially from Wal-Mart, while being buffeted by turmoil in the
Middle East and by the Russia-Ukraine dispute.

Wal-Mart's news pointed to further contraction in consumer spending
even after U.S. oil inventory data released Wednesday highlighted swelling
supplies and dismal demand pushed crude futures down more than 12 percent.

"This morning, crude futures are lower after rising initially on news
that rockets were fired from Lebanon into Northern Israel, widening the
Gaza conflict and once again raising concerns it could disrupt Middle East
oil supplies," Addison Armstrong, analyst at Tradition Energy said in a
note.

PRICES

* On the New York Mercantile Exchange at 9:57 a.m. EST (1457 GMT),
February crude CLG9 was down 50 cents, or 1.7 percent, at $42.13 per
barrel, trading from $40.87 to $43.63.

* February Brent LCOG9 crude rose 13 cents, or 0.28 percent, to
$45.99 a barrel, trading from $44.72 to $47.36 and supported more than U.S.
crude by the Russia dispute.

* NYMEX February heating oil HOG9 rose 1.84 cents, or 1.19 percent,
to $1.5615 a gallon, trading from $1.5404 to $1.6025.

* NYMEX February RBOB RBG9 edged up 0.21 cent, or 0.2 percent, at
$1.0785 per gallon, trading from $1.0695 to $1.1139.

* The Feb/Feb RBOB crack spread <0#RB-CL=R> was at $3.24. It ended at
$2.58 on Wednesday. The Feb/Feb heating oil crack spread <0#CL-HO=R> was at
$23.34, after ending at $22.18 on Wednesday.

* The spread between the current front month and the five-year forward
crude contract CLc61 was at $30.56, based on Wednesday's February 2014
contract settlement at $72.69. The spread ended Wednesday at $30.06.

TECHNICALS

NYMEX crude 10-day/20-day moving average: $42.66/$42.08

Technical support/resistance: NYMEX crude: $42.00/$45.50

NYMEX heating oil: $1.40/$1.70

NYMEX RBOB: $1.00/$1.30

For a report on technicals click [ID:nL8536787]

MARKET NEWS

* Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N) led U.S. retailers in posting
disappointing December same-store sales. [ID:nN08485027]

* Petrol stations ran dry and flights were delayed at India's busiest
airport as a strike by state oil company officials entered a second day.
[ID:nDEL368369]

* U.S. stocks opened lower after Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N) posted
disappointing December sales and cut its fourth-quarter profit outlook.

* Russia and Ukraine failed to resolve a gas row at a meeting in Moscow
but will continue talks to end the dispute which has choked off supplies to
Europe, a senior Ukrainian gas official said on Thursday. [ID:nL7323048]

* The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for unemployment
benefits last week unexpectedly fell to their lowest level since
mid-October, but the number remaining on jobless rolls rose to a 26-year
high. [ID:nL8596895]

* For the week to Jan. 2, the Energy Information Administration said
Wednesday that U.S. crude oil inventories rose 6.7 million barrels.
[EIA/S]

* Jet fuel inventories in independent oil storage in the
Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp hub rose over the past week to their highest
ever level, Dutch oil analyst Pieter Kulsen said on Thursday.
[ID:nL8571740]

* Israel pressed its offensive against Hamas militants in the Gaza
Strip on Thursday. A rocket salvo from Lebanon slightly wounded two people
in northern Israel and briefly raised fears that Hezbollah fighters were
opening a second front to relieve pressure on Gaza. [ID:nL8463036]
(Reporting by Robert Gibbons; Editing by John Picinich)