NYMEX-Crude edges lower on concerns over U.S. budget, China

SINGAPORE, March 4 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures edged lower in early Asian trade on Monday, extending Friday's drop of over a dollar on heightened worries that spending cuts in the United States will hurt economic growth and oil demand across the globe.

FUNDAMENTALS

* U.S. crude for April delivery fell 12 cents per barrel to $90.56 at 0024 GMT, holding near its weakest since December. Brent crude has erased all of its 2013 gains on concerns over the U.S. budget crisis.

* President Barack Obama formally ordered broad cuts in U.S. government spending on Friday night after he and congressional Republicans failed to reach a deal to avert automatic reductions that could dampen economic growth.

* The UK Brent oil pipeline system remained shut on Sunday as the operator of the Cormorant Alpha platform in the North Sea investigated a leak of hydrocarbons into one of the platform's legs, the operator said.

* U.S. manufacturing activity expanded last month at its fastest clip in 20 months but Asian factories slowed and European output fell, suggesting the road back to robust global growth remains uneven.

* Syria and Iran joined forces on Saturday to condemn moves by Western powers to aid rebels fighting against President Bashar al-Assad, with the Syrian leader singling out Britain as a "shallow and immature" power.

* Growing domestic production of light, sweet crude will likely lead the United States to consider exporting oil to Mexico or other countries where it is in high demand, the head of the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Friday.

* OPEC crude oil output rose in February, the first monthly increase since October, due to higher exports from Iraq and a slight increase in supply from top exporter Saudi Arabia, a Reuters survey found on Friday.

MARKETS NEWS

* U.S. stocks advanced modestly on Friday, leaving the S&P 500 with slight gains in a volatile week as strong economic data overshadowed growth concerns in China and Europe and let investors discount the impact of expected U.S. government spending cuts.

* Commodities tumbled on Friday, with oil entering negative territory for the year and copper hitting a three-month low, after U.S. budget cuts and a surging dollar triggered worries about raw materials demand.

DATA/EVENTS (GMT)

0930 Euro zone Sentix index

1000 Euro zone Producer prices

1445 U.S. ISM-New York business index

(Reporting by Ramya Venugopal; Editing by Richard Pullin)