* World Bank says China economic slowdown may worsen
* Turkey retaliates again after mortar fire from Syria
* Coming up: API oil data 4:30 p.m. EDT Wednesday
(Recasts, updates prices, market activity; changes byline anddateline, previous LONDON)
By Robert Gibbons
NEW YORK, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Oil prices eased on Monday onconcerns that slower economic growth in China and the debtcrisis in Europe will curb demand for petroleum, while thepotential for Middle East turmoil to disrupt supplies limitedlosses.
Crude futures encountered pressure when the World Bank cutits economic growth forecasts for East Asia and the Pacificregion and said there was a risk the slowdown in China, theglobal No. 2 oil consumer, could be deeper and more prolongedthan expected by many analysts.
China's economic growth and demand for petroleum have beenkey supports for oil prices since elsewhere global energy demandand economic growth were slowed by recession after the financialcrisis in 2008.
Worries about Spain and Europe's debt crisis continued evenas euro zone officials gathered in Luxembourg to launch theregion's bailout fund. The euro retreated from a two-week peakagainst the dollar and yen.
The concerns about Asia weighed on global and U.S. equities.
More exchanges of fire between Turkey and Syria on Mondayand better-than-expected German export data helped limit oilmarket losses, analysts and brokers said.
"The situation between Turkey and Syria and some Germanexport data, that was unexpectedly supportive, helped pullprices off lows hit because of concerns about China's slowingand Europe's debt crisis," said Phil Flynn, analyst at PriceFutures Group in Chicago.
Brent November crude slipped 20 cents to $111.82 abarrel at 11:29 a.m. EDT (1529 GMT), recovering after falling toa session low of $110.54.
U.S. November crude was down 50 cents at $89.38 abarrel, having slipped as low as $88.21.
Brent's premium to U.S. crude neared $23 abarrel intraday on Monday. Middle East conflicts and delays inthe October loading of North Sea Forties cargoes have helpedpush Brent's premium to its highest since October 2011.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Graphic - Oil in euros: Graphics - Israel/Iran: For a 24-hr Brent crude chart analysis ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> MIDDLE EAST TURMOIL
Turkey's military launched a retaliatory strike after Syriafired a mortar bomb into Turkey's southern province of Hatay onMonday, a Turkish state official told Reuters.
It was the sixth consecutive day of Turkish retaliationagainst bombardment from inside Syria, where President Basharal-Assad's forces are battling rebels.
"The ongoing shelling of Turkey by Syria is also fuellingconcerns about the conflict in Syria spreading to theneighboring country," said Carsten Fritsch, oil analyst atCommerzbank in Frankfurt.
"If this were to happen, oil production in the North of Iraqwould be at risk, since the oil is transported to the West viapipelines through Turkey," he said.
Iran's dispute with Israel and the West over Tehran'snuclear program also continues to limit oil price losses.
Iran on Monday derided Israel's air defenses as feeble,citing a drone incursion into Israeli airspace, but Tehran didnot say it had sent the aircraft shot down by the Israelis atthe weekend.
Iran also accused Israel and others of masterminding what itsaid was a cyber attack on communication networks on Iranianoffshore oil and gas platforms in the past few weeks.
(Additional reporting by Alice Baghdjian and ChristopherJohnson in London and Florence Tan and Manolo Serapio Jr inSingapore)
((robert.gibbons@thomsonreuters.com)(+1 646 223 6059)(ReutersMessaging: robert.gibbons.reuters.com@reuters.net))
Keywords: MARKETS OIL/