* Fed signals U.S. interest rates to remain near zero
* Coming Up: U.S. durable goods for May; 1230 GMT
* For a technical view, click: [
]By Alejandro Barbajosa
SINGAPORE, June 24 (Reuters) - Oil prices steadied on Thursday, stabilising after two days of losses under the influence of modest gains in regional equities and dovish comments from the U.S. Federal Reserve.
Japan's Nikkei average rose 0.8 percent on Thursday, after U.S. stocks closed mostly lower on Wednesday following the Fed's monetary policy statement, suggesting interest rates will remain near zero longer than expected. [
] [ ]"Oil has picked up off the lows this morning. It had a very sharp sell-off Wednesday after the weak data on housing and the EIA stocks data," said David Moore, commodities strategist at Commonwealth Bank.
"The little bounce today is more a reaction to the dip last night. Regional equities are stable and the Fed's affirmation it will keep interest rates lows may have also helped."
U.S. crude for August <CLc1> fell as much as 42 cents to $75.93 a barrel before recovering to $76.45, up 10 cents on the day at 0400 GMT. ICE Brent rose 12 cents to $76.39.
U.S. gasoline inventories last week fell by 800,000 barrels, with demand over the past four weeks up 1.2 percent over the comparable period last year. Distillate stocks rose by 300,000 barrels, while demand jumped 12 percent. [
]On Wednesday crude touched $75.17, the lowest since June 15, up 18 percent from the May 20 trough below $65, but prices are about $11 lower than their early-May 19-month peak above $87.
"What we see is a market that is still cautious about economic recovery," said Toby Hassall, an analyst at CWA Global Markets in Sydney. "That feeds into oil demand prospects."
U.S. crude inventories unexpectedly gained 2 million barrels last week, according to a government report on Wednesday, while data showed new home sales fell at a record pace in May to their lowest in more than 40 years.
In the U.S. Gulf, BP <BP.L> said it had reinstalled its oil syphon cap at its leaking well off the southern United States. [
] At the same time, the Obama administration appealed a court ruling that blocked its six-month moratorium on deepwater oil drilling. But a long-term ban on deepwater production may cause the United State longer term problems."Obama's attempts to restrict deepwater drilling are at odds with another policy -- to cut dependence on imported oil," said Jonathan Barratt, managing director of Commodity Broking Services.
"By taking deepwater supplies out of the equation, U.S. self sufficiency in oil could fall to around 30 percent in 2035 from around 40 percent if deepwater production is allowed."
For graphics of U.S. Gulf offshore crude output and self-sufficiency: http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/10/US_DRL0610.gif http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/10/US_OFSHRD0610.gif
Weather concerns could complicate the picture after the U.S. National Hurrican Center said a tropical wave to the south of Cuba had a 30 percent chance of becoming a tropical cyclone over the next two days. Storms could hamper cleaning efforts and curb oil production in the Gulf of Mexico.
In other news, the Paris-based International Energy Agency on Wednesday said crude supplies would be comfortable for five years, further stoking bearish sentiment in the oil market. [
] (Editing by Clarence Fernandez)