NYMEX-Crude slips on possible build in stockpiles, firm dollar
SINGAPORE, March 12 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures slipped in early Asian trade on Tuesday on worries stockpiles in the world's largest oil consumer may have risen for an eight straight week, while a stronger dollar put additional pressure on prices. U.S. oil slipped 4 cents to $92.02 a barrel by 0022 GMT, after settling 11 cents higher. Brent crude slipped 9 cents to $110.13, after ending 63 cents lower.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Growing imports led to U.S. crude inventories rising 2.4 million barrels in the week to March 8, a survey of six analysts in a preliminary Reuters poll showed ahead of weekly inventory reports from industry group the American Petroleum Institute (API) on Tuesday and the EIA on Wednesday.
* Iran's crude oil exports in March may plunge by a quarter from a month earlier to the lowest since tight Western sanctions came into effect in 2012, industry sources said, squeezing income for Tehran as sanctions cast doubt over its future revenues.
* Most U.S. cash crude oil differentials were steady on Monday as crude futures saw choppy trading and the spread between Brent and U.S. crude futures narrowed.
* South Sudan's president has ordered his soldiers to pull out of a buffer zone area on the border with Sudan as agreed at African Union-brokered talks, the army spokesman said.
* The U.S. gasoline refining margin, or crack, tracked against European Brent crude futures <RB-LCO1=R> hit its highest level since May 2007 at $27.05 per barrel on Monday, as the U.S. bioethanol credit market peaks.
MARKETS NEWS
* Wall Street rose on Monday, lifting the Dow to another record and giving the S&P 500 its seventh straight advance as early weakness enticed buyers. The gains briefly lifted the benchmark S&P 500 index to its highest intraday level since October 2007.
* The yen carved out a fresh 3-1/2 year low versus the greenback on Tuesday and fell to a 4-1/2 year trough on the Australian dollar as investors reacted to a media report that the Bank of Japan might deliver bold stimulus sooner than expected.
DATA/EVENTS
* The following data is expected on Tuesday:
- 0500 Japan Consumer confidence index - 0530 India Industrial output - 1130 U.S. NFIB business optimism index - 1145 U.S. ICSC weekly chain store sales - 1255 U.S. Redbook weekly retail sales - 2030 U.S. API weekly crude stocks
(Reporting by Manash Goswami; Editing by Himani Sarkar)