* API reports bigger-than-expected draw of 5 mln barrels
* Crude futures had settled off lows on gasoline rally
* Deer Park refinery outage boosted gasoline
* Nigeria rebels deny agreeing to ceasefire pact
(New throughout, updates prices and market activity to
post-settlement trade after big crude draw cited by API)
By Barani Krishnan
NEW YORK, June 21 (Reuters) - Oil prices settled lower on
Tuesday on profit taking after a two-day rally, then rose in
post-settlement trade after data showing a larger-than-expected
draw in U.S. crude stockpiles.
Crude inventories fell by 5.2 million barrels for the week
ended June 17, the American Petroleum Institute (API) said. The
trade group's figures were triple the draw of 1.7 million
barrels forecast by analysts in a Reuters poll. API/S
The U.S. government's Energy Information Administration
(EIA) will issue official stockpiles data on Wednesday. EIA/S
Early in the session, oil prices dropped as much as 2
percent as investors took profits on a two-day rally fed by
speculation that Britain would not vote to leave the European
Union in a referendum this Thursday. But a rebound in gasoline
lifted crude off session lows, and oil settled the session only
slightly lower. RBc1
Gasoline prices rose after Royal Dutch Shell Plc RDSa.L
shut its gasoline-producing fluidic catalytic cracking unit at
the 316,600 barrel per day (bpd) Deer Park, Texas refinery.
Oil prices were also supported by worries about the
possibility of global crude supplies tightening from the
economic crisis in Venezuela. Denial by rebels sabotaging
Nigeria's crude exports that they had agreed to a month-long
ceasefire was another supportive factor.
Brent crude futures' front-month, August LCOQ6 , settled
down 3 cents at $50.62 a barrel. In post-settlement, it rose to
as high as $51.10, spurred by the crude draw reported by API.
U.S. crude futures' expiring July front-month contract
CLN6 closed down 52 cents, or 1 percent, at $48.85 a barrel.
The August contract CLQ6 , which will be front month from
Wednesday, settled down 11 cents at $49.85 and rose to $50.40 in
post-settlement.
Some market participants disputed the draw cited by API. The
trade group's numbers, based on voluntary reporting by its
members, have been at odds with market expectations and EIA data
in the past.
"That's too big a draw if you ask me and we're not convinced
by it," Matt Smith of New York-based crude cargo tracker
Clipperdata said, referring to the API numbers.
"We think there will be a draw based on stronger refinery
runs. But we also estimate that waterborne imports of crude
alone rose by 5 million barrels last week, so we don't think the
crude draw is going to be that large."
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GRAPHIC on Nigerian currency falling against dollar http://tmsnrt.rs/28JK5yI
GRAPHIC on Brent oil posibly retracing to $49.90 before rising
http://tmsnrt.rs/28Jx1tm
GRAPHIC on U.S. oil possibly testing $50.16 after a moderate
pullback http://tmsnrt.rs/28KYtuI
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