* Technicals suggest oil may fall to $75 []
* U.S. gasoline, distillate stocks expected to rise
* Prices pare decline after U.S. house price data
* Coming Up: U.S. Consumer confidence, Sept; 1400 GMT
(Updates prices)
By Alex Lawler
LONDON, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Oil pared an earlier decline to
trade near $76 a barrel on Tuesday after a U.S. housing index
weakened the dollar and supported equities, but expectations of
rising fuel inventories limited the rebound.
Single-family home prices dipped in July, and are seen
stabilizing near the lows without the homebuyer tax credit that
ended in April, Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home price
indexes showed. []
"The dollar slid and U.S. stocks were boosted a bit by the
home prices data, which helped crude oil bounce," said Addison
Armstrong, director of market research at Tradition Energy in
Stamford, Connecticut.
U.S. crude for delivery in November <CLc1> fell 45 cents to
$76.07 a barrel at 1332 GMT, while ICE Brent <LCOc1> added 11
cents to $78.68.
Oil in New York fell up to 99 cents earlier in the session
ahead of reports expected to show fuel stockpiles rose in the
world's top oil-consuming nation last week limited the rally.
Distillate and gasoline supplies may have gained by 300,000
barrels and 700,000 barrels respectively, with demand seen weak,
a Reuters poll showed before inventory reports on Tuesday and
Wednesday. []
Crude oil stockpiles probably fell by 400,000 barrels on
lower imports as seasonal refinery maintenance slowed demand,
the poll for the week to Sept. 24 showed.
European benchmark Brent is trading at an atypical premium
to the U.S. benchmark, also known as West Texas Intermediate,
which has been pressured by ample inventories in the United
States.
Industry inventory statistics will be published by the
American Petroleum Institute (API) on Tuesday at 2030 GMT,
followed by government data from the Energy Information
Administration on Wednesday at 1430 GMT.
"We are still convinced that with ample supply and high
inventories, there is more risk that prices will go down rather
than come back up," said Barbara Lambrecht, analyst at
Commerzbank.
The dollar weakened after the housing data, making oil
cheaper for other currency holders <.DXY> and Wall Street posted
early gains. Financial markets are looking ahead to the U.S.
consumer confidence data at 1400 GMT.
On the weather front, there was little immediate risk of
disruption to Gulf of Mexico oil supplies.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said on Tuesday a low
pressure system in the northwest Caribbean Sea still had an 80
percent chance of strengthening into a tropical depression over
the next 48 hours as it drifts away from the northern Gulf of
Mexico. []
(Additional reporting by Robert Gibbons in New York and
Alejandro Barbajosa in Singapore; editing by James Jukwey and
Alison Birrane)
