NEW YORK, June 2 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures edged lower on Tuesday in choppy trading, bouncing off their early low with an assist from pending home sales data which also lifted Wall Street. Oil trading sources had expected profit-taking after the market jumped more than 3 percent on Monday to settle above $68 a barrel. Wall Street moved higher and crude futures were lifted off their low by a report from the National Association of Realtors showing that pending sales in April of previously owned U.S. homes unexpectedly saw their biggest monthly gain in 7-1/2 years. [ID:nN02503338] World stock markets edged higher, shrugging off earlier weakness and adding to gains posted on Monday. [MKTS/GLOB] "Crude continues to remain firm in anticipation that green shoots will soon start becoming branches, but I think we need to be cautious in here," said Nauman Barakat, senior vice president at Macquarie Futures USA. "Prices much above $75 will need to have demand start kicking in, otherwise this rally is likely to stall," he added. Ahead of industry and government inventory reports, a Reuters survey of analysts on Monday yielded a forecast for crude supplies to have fallen last week. Products supplies and refinery utilization were expected to have risen. [EIA/S] PRICES * On the New York Mercantile Exchange at 11:47 a.m. EDT (1547 GMT), July crude CLN9 was down 27 cents, or 0.39 percent, at $68.31 a barrel, trading from $67.50, where technical support was charted, to $68.65. * Monday's $68.68 intraday peak was the highest since $70.46 was reached on Nov. 5. * In London, July Brent crude LCON9 was near flat, down only 3 cents, or 0.04 percent, to $67.94 barrel, trading from $67.05 to $68.29. * NYMEX July RBOB RBN9 fell 0.50 cents, or 0.26 percent, to $1.9193 a gallon, trading from $1.9048 to $1.9325. * NYMEX July heating oil HON9 rose 1.46 cents, or 0.82 percent, to $1.7911 a gallon, seesawing between $1.7472 to $1.8025. * The July/July RBOB crack spread <0#RB-CL=R> was at $12.32. It ended at $12.24 on Monday. The July/July heating oil crack spread <0#CL-HO=R> was at $6.64. It ended at $6.03 on Monday. * The spread between the current front month and the five-year forward crude contract CLc61 was at $12.42, based on the July 2014 contract settlement on Monday at $80.73. The spread ended at $12.15 on Monday. TECHNICALS NYMEX crude 10-day/20-day moving average: $63.80/$60.64 Technical support/resistance: NYMEX crude: $67.55/$68.68 NYMEX heating oil: $1.6662/$1.7831 NYMEX RBOB: $1.8689/$1.9537 For a report on technicals click [ID:nL2010844] MARKET NEWS * Oil prices could fall again because fundamentals are still weak, OPEC's director of research said, adding that the recent rally was driven by funds. [ID:nL21005469] * Oil prices could reach $80-$90 a barrel by early next year, but OPEC would not increase its output until a huge amount of over-supply was absorbed, OPEC's Secretary General Abdullah al-Badri said on Tuesday. [ID:nL2655216] * The Colorado State University hurricane forecast team reduced its Atlantic storm season forecast, citing cooler sea temperatures and a possible El Nino.[ID:nN02503572] * China's end-April total crude supply rose to the highest level since 2008, while refined fuel stocks held by state refiners fell, a Xinhua newsletter reported.

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