NYMEX-Crude rises after China says yuan to be more flexible

                                
 SINGAPORE, June 21 (Reuters) - U.S. crude rose more than 1
percent on Monday to about $78 after China vowed at the weekend
to let the yuan exchange rate become more flexible, raising
expectations of higher imports by the world's No. 2 oil user.
                                
 FUNDAMENTALS
                                
 * NYMEX West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery
<CLc1> rose as much as 96 cents or 1.2 percent to $78.14 a
barrel and was up 80 cents at $77.98 at 2352 GMT.
                                
 * Prices have recovered about 20 percent from a trough
below $65 a month ago, but are still more than $9 lower than an
early-May 19-month peak above $87.
                                
 * China announced on Saturday that it would resume making
the yuan more flexible, signalling that it was ready to break a
23-month-old peg to the dollar that had come under intense
international criticism. [ID:nTOE65J004]
                                
 But in a lengthy statement about how reform would proceed,
the central bank explicitly ruled out a one-off revaluation,
repeatedly said there was no basis for any big appreciation and
added that the currency's value was not far off its fair level.
                                
 MARKETS NEWS
                                
 * ICE Brent for August <LCOc1> rose as much as 97 cents to
$79.19 a barrel and was up 83 cents at $79.05.
                                
 * Global stocks, commodity-linked currencies and other
higher-yielding currencies may receive an immediate boost this
week in response to China's decision on the yuan. [MKTS/GLOB]
                                
 * S&P futures climbed at the open and the euro jumped in
early Asian trade after China's yuan announcement, a move
likely to be taken as a vote of confidence in the global
economic recovery's staying power. [ID:nN20171161]
                                
 * World stocks gained for a ninth straight day on Friday on
improved risk appetite after a Spanish bond auction eased fears
about sovereign debt in Europe and helped the euro hold near
three-week highs.
                                
 * In a sign of normalisation, Wall Street's fear gauge, the
Volatility Index <.VIX>, tumbled below 24 on Friday after
setting a 14-month high above 47 in May.
                                
 DATA/EVENTS
                                
 * The following data is expected on Monday:
                                
 - China Final commodity trade data May  (0200 GMT)
                                
 - EZ  Euroilstock refinery report May   (1300 GMT)
                                
 - U.S. USDA crop progress report        (0200 GMT)
                                
 RELATED NEWS
                                
 * BP Plc <BP.L> <BP.N> estimates that a worst-case scenario
rate for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill could be about 100,000
barrels of oil per day, according to an internal company
document released on Sunday by a senior U.S. congressional
Democrat. [ID:nN19188555]
                                
 PRICES
 Contract Mnth    Price  Change  Day ago     pct     MA-20*
 NYMEX Contracts
 US Crude JUL0   $77.98   +0.80   +$0.39  +0.51%     $73.57
 Heat Oil JUL0   214.98   +2.09    -1.85  -0.86%     200.02
 RBOB     JUL0   217.04   +2.28    -1.64  -0.76%     203.88
 Natgas   JUL0   $5.071  +0.074  -$0.165  -3.20%     $4.611
 ICE Contracts
 Brent    AUG0   $79.05   +0.83   -$0.46  -0.58%     $74.23
 Gasoil   JUL0  $687.00   +6.00   -$3.25  -0.47%    $637.76
 Note: U.S. heating oil and RBOB gasoline contracts listed in
cents per gallon.
 * = 20-day moving average for continuation month.
 (Reporting by Alejandro Barbajosa; Editing by Ed Lane)