NEW YORK, May 21- Crude oil futures ended lower on Tuesday, falling early as the dollar strengthened, then paring losses as the greenback weakened after a Federal Reserve official said he did not believe the U.S. central bank should pull back on its quantitative easing program.
*Hot weather last week stressed Kansas wheat. CHICAGO, May 21- Tornadoes, high winds, rain and hail that cut a swath across the midsection of the United States on Sunday and Monday did only minimal harm to the winter wheat crop in top producers Kansas and Oklahoma, agricultural experts said. I'm in Phillips County now, in northwest Kansas, and the crop looks terrible.
NEW YORK, May 21- Southern Star Central Gas Pipeline Inc on Tuesday said a portion of its natural gas pipeline near Moore, Oklahoma, was impacted after a tornado struck the region late Monday. Southern Star next-day gas prices, not typically tracked by Reuters but listed on ICE, traded down 3 cents on the day at $3.99, one of the only losers on the ICE gas price list.
NEW YORK/ LONDON, May 21- Brent crude oil futures fell below $104 per barrel on Tuesday in New York, as investors worried that the U.S. Operations were unaffected at the U.S. crude futures hub in Cushing, Oklahoma, about 77 miles northeast of Moore, after a vicious tornado ripped through the area.
MOORE, Okla.-- Officials say a tornado hit a small hospital in suburban Oklahoma City, but all the 30 patients inside survived. Moore Medical Center spokeswoman Kelly Wells says the hospital was "pretty much destroyed" after Monday's tornado.
NEW YORK-- CBS has taken the scheduled season-ending episode of "Mike& Molly" off the air because its plot line revolved around a tornado threatening the couple. CBS said the show's season finale will air "at an appropriate date." CBS is owned by CBS Corp..
TULSA, Okla.-- Laredo Petroleum is selling its holdings in the Anadarko Basin to EnerVest Ltd. for $438 million. The Anadarko Basin runs through the western part of Oklahoma and into the Texas Panhandle and extends into western Kansas and southeast Colorado. Shares of Laredo Petroleum Holdings Inc. closed at $19.17 Monday.