* Wall Street up as tech, defensive shares higher

 * IEA predicts sharpest demand fall since '81

 * NYMEX crude volatile as June crude options expire

 NEW YORK, May 14 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures shifted
back up Thursday afternoon as U.S. and European equities rose
on hopes that a global recession may have bottomed, outweighing
worries arising from a further downward revision by the
International Energy Agency of its 2009 oil demand forecast.

 "The S&P got above 890 and that brought in some shorts to
to cover," said Gene McGillian, analyst at Tradition Energy in
Stamford, Connecticut.

 NYMEX June crude oil options expire at the close, adding to
the day's volatility.

 World oil demand in 2009 will fall the most since 1981, the
Paris-based IEA said. Demand will contract by 2.56 million
barrels per day in 2009. IEA's previous forecast was for a drop
of 2.4 million bpd. [ID:nLE877806]

 "The IEA report comes after the DOE and OPEC versions this
month, which might lessen its impact, but it tells the same
story as the others. Demand is falling short of expectations
...," said Tim Evans, energy analyst at Citi Futures
Perspective in New York.

 PRICES

 * On the New York Mercantile Exchange at 2:30 p.m. EDT
(1830 GMT), June crude CLM9 was up 56 cents, or 0.97 percent,
at $58.58 a barrel, trading from $56.55 to $59.

 Tuesday's $60.08 intraday peak was the highest since $62.28
was hit on Nov. 11.

 * In London, June Brent crude LCOM9, which expired at the
close, was down 64 cents, or 1.12 percent, at $56.70 a barrel,
trading from $56 to $57.28.

 * NYMEX June RBOB RBM9 was up 3.37 cents, or 2.0 percent,
at $1.7225 a gallon, trading from $1.6644 to $1.7290, the
highest intraday since prices hit $1.75 on Oct. 21.

 * NYMEX June heating oil HOM9 was up 0.29 cent, or 0.19
percent, at $1.4929 a gallon, trading from $1.4577 to $1.5029.

 * The June/June RBOB crack spread <0#RB-CL=R> was at
$13.67, after ending at $12.91 on Wednesday. The June/June
heating oil crack spread <0#CL-HO=R> was at $4.12 after ending
at $4.56 on Wednesday.

 * The spread between the current front month and the
five-year forward crude contract CLc61 was at $17.04, based
on the June 2014 contract settlement on Wednesday at $75.62.
The spread ended at $17.60 on Wednesday.

 TECHNICALS

 NYMEX crude 10-day/20-day moving average: $56.55/$53.02

 Technical support/resistance:

 NYMEX crude: $55.98/$60.08

 NYMEX heating oil: $1.45/$1.55

 NYMEX RBOB: $1.60/1.7095

 For a report on technicals click [ID:nLE230867]

 MARKET NEWS

 * Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said Thursday its
503,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Baton Rouge, Louisiana,
returned to normal operations after repairs to a
gasoline-making fluid catalytic cracker. [ID:nN14482457]

 * Wall Street rose, lifted by a rebound in technology
shares, while a surprisingly big rise in weekly jobless benefit
claims brought new worries about the economy, pushing defensive
shares higher. [.N]

 * The number of U.S. workers filing new jobless claims rose
more than expected last week, pushed up by auto plant shutdowns
related to Chrysler's bankruptcy. [ID:nN14464671

 * U.S. producer prices rose faster than expected in April,
driven by a rise in food costs. The Producer Price Index
climbed 0.3 percent, after declining in March. [ID:nN13413299]

 * The euro extended gains against both the U.S. dollar and
the Japanese yen to trade at session highs as an advance in
stocks in Europe and in Wall Street lent support to the
European currency. [USD/]

 * U.S. industrial customers are still seeing falling oil
demand with a return to normal not expected until late 2009 or
early 2010, BP Plc's (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research) CEO said. [ID:nN13506414]

 * Provided oil prices stay firm, OPEC could decide to keep
production levels unchanged when it meets in Vienna on May 28,
Iraq's oil minister said on Thursday.[ID:nLE524915]

 * European benchmark 10 ppm premium unleaded gasoline
PU-10PP-ARA rose to a 2009 high on Thursday due to persistent
strength in U.S. RBOB gasoline futures and tight supplies.
[ID:nLE930863]
 (Reporting by Gene Ramos and Robert Gibbons)

www.uk.reuters.com