* U.S. front-month crude pressured by expiry-traders
* U.S. crude inventories likely fell last week-poll
* Coming up: Fed announcement at 2:15 p.m. EDT Tuesday
(Recasts, updates prices, market activity)
By Robert Gibbons
NEW YORK, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Crude oil fell for the fifth
time in six days on Tuesday in muted trade as investors awaited
results from a key Federal Reserve policy meeting.
U.S. stocks slipped as caution ahead of the Federal
Reserve's meeting overshadowed upbeat housing data. []
The U.S. central bank is expected to restate its existing
policy with no fresh stimulus and interest rates kept at almost
zero, but the Fed has come under pressure to inject more money
into its sluggish economy. []
The October U.S. crude contract expiration and high U.S.
oil inventories kept pressure on the front month and helped
push nearby months lower, industry sources said.
U.S. crude for October <CLc1> delivery fell $1.65, or 2.2
percent, to $73.21 per barrel by 1:36 p.m. EDT (1736 GMT), on
tap to post the biggest percentage drop for front-month crude
since Aug. 31. That day also was a Tuesday ahead of weekly oil
inventory reports and one with expiring contracts on tap,
though they were for refined products.
U.S. November crude <CLc2> fell 75 cents, or 0.98 percent,
to $75.44 a barrel.
ICE Brent for November <LCOc1> fell 50 cents to $78.82.
The premium for November Brent over the equivalent U.S.
benchmark West Texas Intermediate contract rose above $3.50 on
Tuesday. The premium shrank below $2 when a leak forced the
closure of the biggest Canada-U.S. crude pipeline but widened
when it became apparent flows would resume last week. (Graphic
of Brent-U.S. crude spreads: http://link.reuters.com/buc74p)
"Some of the weakness is (Enbridge Inc's Canada-U.S.)
pipeline coming up because the market rallied significantly on
the line being shut," said Mark Waggoner, president at Excel
Futures Inc in Bend, Oregon.
"And you have the unwinding of the October contract and
that is dragging down the (nearby months) and everyone's
cautious waiting for the Fed."
The Federal Reserve's policy announcement after its meeting
is expected around 2:15 p.m. EDT (1815 GMT) on Tuesday.
CHINESE DATA
Chinese figures offered some support for prices on Tuesday.
China's apparent oil demand rose 8.2 percent in August over a
year earlier, rebounding from July, Reuters calculations from
official data showed. []
But U.S. oil inventories remain high, with crude oil,
distillate and gasoline stock levels all well above year-ago
levels in the government's report for the week to Sept. 10.
Crude inventories probably fell last week because of lower
imports from Canada due to the Enbridge pipeline outage and as
tankers navigated around stormy weather, a Reuters survey of
analysts showed on Monday. []
Industry group the American Petroleum Institute will
publish U.S. oil inventory data for the week to Sept. 17 at
4:30 p.m. EDT (2030 GMT) on Tuesday. The U.S. Energy
Information Administration will release its data on Wednesday
at 10:30 a.m. EDT (1430 GMT).
(Additional reporting by Christopher Johnson in London and
Alejandro Barbajosa in Singapore; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
