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UPDATE 6-Oil falls on concerns about U.S. growth, euro zone

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Published: Tuesday, 2 Apr 2013 | 12:28 AM ET

* Economic outlook for U.S./Europe fuels demand worries

* U.S. crude stocks may have risen last week - Poll

* Saudi sees demand rising in coming months

* Coming up: API oil data 4:30 p.m. EDT Tuesday

(Rewrites, adding updated prices, market activity; changes dateline, pvs LONDON)

NEW YORK, April 2 (Reuters) - Oil prices fell in choppy trading on Tuesday as sufficient supply and concerns over the pace of U.S. economic growth and the euro zone economy offset any support from the prospect of stronger demand in Asia.

U.S. gasoline futures posted the biggest percentage drop in the oil futures complex, pushing below the 50-day moving average of $3.0477 a gallon, a technical level closely monitored by chart watching traders and analysts.

U.S. crude losses outpaced Brent and traders as recent pipeline problems curbing the ability to move crude oil out of the Midwest to the U.S. Gulf Coast raised expectations inventories in the United States will be lifted.

U.S. light sweet crude prices had recently been lifted, and the price difference to Brent narrowed <CL-LCO1=R>, because of increased ability to move rising crude supply out of the Midwest to the Gulf Coast refining center.

"The market has no clear leadership right now," said Olivier Jakob, an analyst at Petromatrix in Zug, Switzerland. "Both crudes are under pressure, and the economic situation in Europe still looks pretty lousy."

Brent May crude fell 58 cents to $110.50 a barrel at 11:58 a.m. EST (1558 GMT), after reaching $111.79. The $110.36 session low kept prices above the 200-day moving average at $110.17.

Saudi Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi saying on Monday that demand for crude from Saudi Arabia is likely to rise over the coming months had provided crude futures, especially Brent, some support.

U.S. May crude was down 57 cents at $96.50 a barrel, having traded from $95.91 to $97.22.

Gasoline futures were down 5.80 cents at $3.0435 a gallon, having fallen as low as $3.0366.

While gasoline futures fell, U.S. heating oil rose more than a penny, as the benchmark distillate futures contract continued to attract buyers after the jumbo, 4.5 million barrel, drop in stockpiles reported by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) for the week to March 22.

The EIA's report that refinery capacity use jumped 2.2 percentage points in the same week had some brokers and traders expecting refined products production to rise in coming weeks.

ECONOMIC HEADWINDS

A stronger dollar added pressure on dollar-denominated oil prices, with the euro getting pressured by euro zone data showing the region was well into economic contraction last month.

British manufacturing also remained in contraction, and European Union (EU) data showed unemployment in February was steady at 12 percent.

The gloomy data from Europe followed Monday's report that U.S. factory activity grew at its slowest rate in three months in March, indicating a loss of momentum at the end of the first quarter.

Investors await Friday's closely watched U.S. March nonfarm payrolls report for more indication of whether the headwinds from a tighter fiscal policy, the sequestration or automatic spending cuts, have slowed the economy of the No. 1 global oil consumer.

PEGASUS WINGS CLIPPED

Exxon Mobil continued efforts to clean up thousands of barrels of heavy Canadian crude oil spilled in Arkansas after the rupture of a near 65-year-old pipeline.

The Pegasus pipeline, which can carry more than 90,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude to Texas from Illinois, was shut Friday after the leak.

Arkansas has launched an investigation into the pipeline leak, with the company saying it will cooperate fully.

With the pipeline problem likely to keep crude oil bottled up in the region, analysts are expecting U.S. crude inventories to have risen last week, according to a Reuters survey, adding to stockpiles already above 385 million barrels.

The American Petroleum Institute's weekly inventory report is due at 4:30 p.m. EDT (2030 GMT) on Tuesday, with the EIA report following on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. EDT (1430 GMT).

(Reporting by Robert Gibbons in New York, Peg Mackey in London and Luke Pachymuthu in Singapore; editing by Andrew Hay)

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*Economic outlook for U.S./ Europe fuels demand worries. NEW YORK, April 2- Oil prices fell in choppy trading on Tuesday as sufficient supply and concerns over the pace of U.S. economic growth and the euro zone economy offset any support from the prospect of stronger demand in Asia.

   
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