* EIA: gasoline, heating oil stocks down; crude up * Dollar up on optimism, equities flat on bank results NEW YORK, Oct 15 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures settled at a one-year high on Thursday, up for the sixth consecutive day, after government data showed heavy drawdowns in gasoline and distillate inventories last week, going against forecasts for modest increases. Traders shrugged off data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showing a smaller-than-expected increase in crude oil supplies. "What stands out is the big draw in the gasoline and I think people looked at that, and combined that with a draw in distillates, that's why the market shot up to basically new highs across the board," said Gene McGillian, analyst at Tradition Energy, in Stamford, Connecticut. Gasoline futures ended at a new six-week high and heating oil futures, which hit $2 a gallon for the first time this year, finished at their highest level in 11 months. Crude futures were already up in early trading, aided by late Tuesday's industry data from the American Petroleum Institute showing a hefty drawdown in gasoline supplies and a small decline in crude stocks, both going against forecasts. Trading was volatile as options on the NYMEX November crude contract were to expire at the close. Hefty open interests were at the $76.50 and $80 call, according to Reuters data. The U.S. dollar rose against the yen but the euro remained near a 14-month peak against the greenback. [USD/] U.S. stocks were flat in late trading after quarterly bank results disappointed investors, but losses were limited as energy shares rose on the EIA inventory data. [.N] PRICES * On the New York Mercantile Exchange ended up $2.40, or 3.19 percent at $77.58 a barrel, the highest since the $78.63 close on Oct. 14, 2008. It traded from $74.79 to $77.97, the highest intraday price since Oct. 15, 2008's $79.17 high. * In London, November Brent crude LCOX9 expired at the close, ending up $1.35, or 1.85 percent, at $74.45 a barrel, the highest close since Aug. 19's $74.90. It traded from $72.84 to $74.65, the highest intraday since Aug. 24's $74.75. * NYMEX November RBOB RBX9 ended up 8.74 cents, or 4.71 percent, at $1.9449 a gallon, the highest settlement since Aug. 31's $1.9859. It traded from $1.8627 to $1.9586, the highest intraday since Aug. 31's $2.07 peak. * NYMEX November heating oil HOX9 finished up 7.54 cents, or 3.88 percent, at $2.0181 a gallon, the highest since the Nov. 5, 2008 close at $2.0547, It traded from $1.9390 to $2.0250, highest intraday since Nov. 10, 2008's $2.0940. * The November/November RBOB crack spread <0#RB-CL=R> ended at $4.11, jumping from $2.84 on Wednesday. The November/November heating oil crack spread <0#CL-HO=R> ended at $7.18, sharply up from $6.41 on Wednesday. * The spread between the current front month and the five-year forward crude contract CLc61 ended at $11.86, narrowing from $13.06 on Wednesday. The November 2014 contract settled Thursday at $89.44, up $1.20, or 1.36 percent. TECHNICALS NYMEX crude 10-day/20-day moving average: $72.25/$70.58 Technical support/resistance: NYMEX crude: $73.50/$76.00 NYMEX heating oil: $1.90/$1.9738 NYMEX RBOB: $1.79/$1.90 For a full report on technicals, click on [ID:nLF584603] MARKET NEWS * EIA data showed crude stocks rose 400,000 barrels to 337.8 million barrels, against the forecast in a Reuters poll for a 700,000-barrel build and countering the 172,000-barrel drawdown the API reported on Wednesday. [EIA/S] * Stocks at the NYMEX delivery hub at Cushing, Oklahoma, rose 400,000 barrels to 25.5 million barrels. * Gasoline stocks fell 5.2 million barrels to 209.2 million barrels, larger than the API's 2.7 million barrel drawdown and against the forecast for an 800,000-barrel increase. * Distillate stocks dropped 1.1 million barrels to 170.7 million barrels, against the API's 219,000-barrel drawdown and the forecast for a 100,000-barrel build. * Refinery utilization plunged 4.1 percentage points to 80.9 percent of capacity, against the forecast for just an 0.4 percentage point decline. * This winter will be warmer and drier than average in the northern United States with wetter and cooler-than-average weather in the South, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said. NOAA said.

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