* Oil rises, dollar seesaws after Fed stimulus plans
* Fed to buy $75 bln/month in long-term Treasuries
* Total Fed bond purchases seen at $600 billion
* U.S. fuel stocks fell last week, crude up-EIA
(Recasts, adding details and prices throughout)
By Joshua Schneyer
NEW YORK, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Oil prices extended gains but
failed to surpass an early six-month high on Wednesday after
the Federal Reserve's much-anticipated plan to inject fresh
economic stimulus fell well within expectations.
Oil prices and other markets vascilated modestly after the
Fed said it would buy around $75 billion in Treasury bonds per
month through mid-2011, totalling around $600 billion. The U.S.
dollar weakened against a basket of currencies <.DXY>. To read
the full Fed story please click []
Oil had gained earlier after weekly data on Wednesday
showed U.S. stocks of gasoline and distillate fuels fell more
sharply than expected last week as the country's refineries cut
utilization rates to the lowest since March.
While the fresh infusion of cash was expected to weaken the
dollar and lift commodities over the long-term, analysts said
the short-term effect had already been factored in.
"I think the market is showing that a lot of this has been
priced in and that is why we haven't shot a lot higher," said
Gene McGillian of Tradition Energy in Connecticut.
"But the fact (Fed) is going to be doing this much will
provide some support for the market -- at least until Friday's
unemployment report.
U.S. crude for December delivery <CLc1> rose $1.04 to
$84.94 a barrel by 3:04 p.m. EDT, after rising to a six-month
high of $85.36 earlier Wednesday. ICE December Brent <LCOZ0>
was at $86.63, up $1.22.
The Fed's plans are in line with economist expectations but
a bit less aggressive than some polled by Reuters had expected.
Estimates for how much the Fed would spend on asset purchases
overall varied from $250 billion to $2 trillion.
A weaker dollar can make commodities -- mostly priced in
dollars -- more attractive to investors. Fed easing may cheapen
borrowing costs, potentially expanding the pool of dollars
flowing into commodities markets.
U.S. FUEL INVENTORIES FALL, ECONOMIC DATA IMPROVE
U.S. crude stockpiles rose by 2 million barrels last week,
roughly in line with analyst expectations. But distillate
stocks shrank by 3.6 million barrels and gasoline stocks fell
by 2.7 million barrels, whittling down overall U.S. fuel stocks
by more than expected last week, as U.S. refinery utilization
fell to 81.8 percent, the lowest rate since March.
(Graphic: http://link.reuters.com/man63q )
The U.S. services sector grew more quickly than expected in
October and factory orders posted their largest gain in eight
months. Also, a private report showed U.S. private employers
added more jobs than expected in October.
(Additional reporting by Gene Ramos, Robert Gibbons, Eileen
Moustakis and Edward McAllister in New York, Zaida Espana in
London, and Alejandro Barbajosa in Singapore; Editing by David
Gregorio)
