NYMEX-Crude ends up as Wall St gains, dollar dips

* Wall Street extends gains after "stress test" news

* Euro at 1-week high vs dollar on German confidence

NEW YORK, April 24 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures ended
higher on Friday for the fourth day in a row as Wall Street
extended gains and as a weaker dollar attracted commodities
buyers.

"The dollar was down and the stock market got a boost --
that's what propped up crude futures today," said Mark
Waggoner, president, Excel Futures, Huntington Beach,
California.

Wall Street, often a proxy in the oil markets for demand
direction, rallied in late trading after release of a paper
outlining the methodologies regulators employed for so-called
stress tests on big U.S. banks.

"Everybody was waiting for the bank stress test
announcement, which turned out to be a non-event, and so on
Wall Street the feeling was that there was nothing to stop
prices going up some more," said Waggoner.

Technical strength after several days of range-bound
trading, despite weak fundamentals due to higher inventories
and tepid demand, also helped lift crude futures, sources
said.

"Overall, it seems like the idea that, at the very least,
economic contraction has slowed, if not actually bottomed, is
taking hold, despite the fundamentals," said Mike Fitzpatrick,
vice president at MF Global in New York.

PRICES

* On the New York Mercantile Exchange, June crude CLM9
settled at $51.55 a barrel, up $1.93, or 3.89 percent, after
trading from $49.06 to $51.75. From a week ago, front-month
prices were up $1.22, or 2.4 pct. For the year, prices were up
$6.95, or 15.6 percent.

* In London, June Brent crude LCOM9 ended up $1.56, or
3.11 percent, at $51.67 a barrel, trading from $49.50 to
$52.09.

* NYMEX May RBOB RBK9 settled 4.76 cents, or 3.41
percent, higher at $1.4420 a gallon, trading from $1.3874 to
$1.4475.

* NYMEX May heating oil HOK9 ended up 5.04 cents, or 3.82
percent, at $1.3683 a gallon, trading from $1.3011 to $1.3718.

* The June/June RBOB crack spread <0#RB-CL=R> ended at
$9.25, edging up from $9.24 at the close on Thursday. The
June/June heating oil crack spread <0#CL-HO=R> ended at $6.65
gaining from $6.46 at the close on Thursday.

* The spread between the current front month and the
five-year forward crude contract CLc61 ended at $20.61,
narrowing from $21.62 on Thursday. The June 2014 contract
settled at $72.16, up 92 cents, or 1.29 percent.

TECHNICALS

NYMEX crude 10-day/20-day moving average: $48.98/$49.78

Technical support/resistance:

NYMEX crude: $49.21/$50.00

NYMEX heating oil: $1.2996/$1.3505

NYMEX RBOB: $1.3928/1.4054

For a report on technicals click [ID:nLO000016]

MARKET NEWS

* U.S. stocks rose further after a much anticipated concept
paper on the government stress tests for the 19 biggest U.S.
financial institutions was released. U.S. equities rose earlier
on better-than-expected results from bellwether companies, such
as Ford Motor Co (F.N) and American Express (AXP.N), and
reassuring data on manufacturing and housing. [.N]

* The euro rose against the dollar after a
better-than-expected German business confidence poll fanned
hopes the euro zone economy may be bottoming. [USD/]

* New U.S. orders for durable goods slipped 0.8 percent in
March, far less than expected, Commerce Department data showed.
[ID:nN23464766]

* Sales of newly built U.S. single-family homes dropped 0.6
percent in March, but the inventory of homes for sale at the
end of the month still plummeted at a record pace, the Commerce
Department said. [ID:nN23339402]

* Oil prices of $40 to $45 should help energy-consuming
countries claw their way out of recession, Qatar's Emir Sheikh
Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani said. [ID:nLO343705]
(Reporting by Gene Ramos and Robert Gibbons; Editing by Walter
Bagley)