NYMEX-Crude rises over $60 after inventory drop

TOKYO, July 15 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures edged up over
$60 a barrel on Wednesday, after closing lower the previous day,
as industry data showed crude oil and gasoline stockpiles fell
last week.

FUNDAMENTALS

* U.S. crude oil stocks fell 1.2 million barrels last week as
domestic refiners boosted run rates, the American Petroleum
Institute said in a report on Tuesday. [ID:nN14605500]

Gasoline inventories dipped 69,000 barrels against
expectations for a 1.0 million barrel increase.

The Energy Information Administration (EIA), a U.S.
government agency, will release its own weekly inventory report
later on Wednesday.

* U.S. oil prices CLc1 dipped 0.3 percent on Tuesday as
concerns about consumer demand helped pull prices down,
offsetting increased optimism for a rebound in ailing world
energy demand coming from a rally in equities. [ID:nSYD465576]

* Crude oil is showing signs of bottoming out, technical
analysts said on Tuesday, although the prospect of further losses
remained in focus. [ID:nLE395609]

MARKET NEWS

* Japan's Nikkei average rose 0.3 percent on Wednesday, after
better-than-expected quarterly results from Goldman Sachs and
Intel helped Wall Street and offset concerns about weak U.S.
consumer demand. [.T]

* The yen was steady against the dollar after falling on
Tuesday as Goldman Sachs' earnings surpassed expectations,
stoking modest hopes for an economic recovery and boosting
investors' appetite for stocks and higher-yielding assets. [FRX/]

* Most commodities turned higher on Tuesday amid renewed
investor confidence in U.S. financial stocks and improved risk
appetite, although doubts about the economy persisted.
[ID:nN14301638]

DATA/EVENTS

* The following data is expected on Wednesday:

- Weekly U.S. Mortgage Market Index (1100 GMT)

- U.S. CPI/Core CPI for June (1230 GMT)

- U.S. Real Earnings for June (1230 GMT)

- U.S. Industrial Production/Cap Use for June (1315 GMT)

- EIA Weekly Petroleum Stocks and Output Data (1430 GMT)

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PRICES
Oil prices as of 0017 GMT
Contract Mnth Price Change Day ago pct MA-20*
NYMEX Contracts
US Crude AUG9 $59.88 +0.36 -$0.17 -0.28% $66.54
Heat Oil AUG9 152.15 +0.96 +0.81 +0.54% 169.35
RBOB AUG9 165.79 +1.13 +0.72 +0.44% 183.08
Natgas AUG9 $3.442 +0.013 +$0.166 +5.09% $3.740
ICE Contracts
Brent AUG9 NA +$0.17 +0.28% $66.31
Gasoil AUG9 NA +$7.75 +1.60% $536.83
Note: U.S. heating oil and RBOB gasoline contracts listed in
cents per gallon.
* = 20-day moving average for continuation month.
(Reporting by James Topham)