Crude at 12-wk low on demand woes, awaits data

* POLL: crude, distillate, gasoline stocks up last week

* Gasoline falls a second day on stock build forecast

* Coming up: API weekly stocks data, 4:30 p.m. EDT Tuesday

NEW YORK, May 17 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures fell for a second day on Tuesday, posting the lowest settlement in 12 weeks as weak U.S. housing and industrial production data fed demand worries.

June crude also slipped as options on the contract expired, with the concentration on puts at the $95 strike price.

Traders awaited weekly inventory data, with forecasts calling for stock builds in U.S. petroleum inventories as of last week. [EIA/S]

An expanded Reuters poll ahead of weekly industry and government inventory data forecast that crude stockpiles rose 1.0 million barrels last week. Distillates were seen up 700,000 barrels and gasoline 800,000 barrels, the poll showed. [EIA/S]

FUNDAMENTALS

* On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude for June delivery CLM1 settled down 46 cents, or 0.47 percent, at $96.91 a barrel, the lowest close since Feb. 22, when prices closed at $93.57, It traded from $95.02 to $97.81.

* NYMEX RBOB gasoline for June delivery RBM1 fell for a second day and settled at $2.9193 a gallon, losing 1.18 cents, or 0.4 percent, the lowest since the March 16 close at $2.8437. It traded from $2.8428 to $2.9520.

* Manufacturing output fell 0.4 percent in April, breaking nine straight months of gains, as supply disruptions from Japan's earthquake hit auto production, the Federal Reserve said. [ID:nN17138O4O]

* Overall industrial production was flat, with gains in mining and utilities offsetting the drop in factory output. Excluding cars and parts, manufacturing output rose a sluggish 0.2 percent.

* A separate report from the Commerce Department showed groundbreaking for new housing dropped 10.6 percent last month to an annual rate of 523,000 units as a glut of homes on the market discouraged new projects.

* The U.S. Coast Guard said 15 miles of the Mississippi was closed to all traffic to protect ships and flood control structures because flooding has raised the river to record levels. Eight Louisiana refineries dependent on the river to bring crude oil from the Gulf of Mexico and to move refined products into the Gulf, are not affected by the closure. [ID:nSGE74G004]

* British annual inflation hit a 2-1/2 year high last month and core prices rose at a record pace, but central bank governor Mervyn King warned that reacting too quickly to rising prices could harm the economy. [ID:nLDE74G0NS]

* Europe's top financial officials broke a taboo and acknowledged for the first time that Greece may have to restructure its debts, a move which could stoke Europe's debt crisis. [ID:nLD74G0PD]

* Europe will not let the euro fail and European Union countries are committed to cutting deficits, the president of the European Council told Chinese officials, seeking to ease fears that the euro zone crisis could imperil China's investments. [ID:nL4E7GH0EX]

* Shokri Ghanem, chairman of Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC), has defected from the regime of Muammar Gaddafi and has fled to neighboring Tunisia, a Tunisian security source said. A government offiical in Tripoli said there was no sign Ghanem had defected. See FACTBOX [ID:nLDE74G29U]

* For other stories on the Middle East and North Africa, click on [TOP/MEAST]

MARKETS NEWS

* Wall Street fell as a disappointing outlook from Hewlett-Pacard Co. <HP!.N> and another batch of soft U.S. economic data added to growing apprehension about the economy's strength. [.N]

* Copper fell for the first time in four sessions, pressured by a firmer dollar and disappointing U.S. data that raised more doubts about global economic recovery. [MET/L]

* Gold fell for a third straight session as a stronger dollar and weak U.S. retail and corporate earnings triggered fund liquidation. [GOL/]

* The euro rose against the dollar but remains vulnerable to global risk-aversion and the possibility that Greece might restructure its debt. In late trading the dollar was down 0.11 percent versus a basket of currencies.[USD/] .DXY.

UPCOMING DATA/EVENTS

* U.S. Energy Information Administration weekly petroleum inventory data, 10:30 a.m. EDT (1430 GMT) Wednesday.

SETTLE NET PCT LOW HIGH CURRENT DAY AGO

    SETTLE     NET    PCT     LOW    HIGH  CURRENT  DAY AGO

              CHNG   CHNG                      VOL      VOL
CLc1    96.91   -0.46  -0.5%   95.02   97.81  340,085  335,318
CLc2    97.43   -0.42  -0.4%   95.54   98.33  214,086  171,276
LCOc1  109.99   -0.85  -0.8%  108.07  111.82  218,383   28,086
RBc1   2.9193 -0.0118  -0.4%  2.8428  2.9520   48,368   60,452
RBc2   2.8842 -0.0175  -0.6%  2.8214  2.9225   56,274   60,670
HOc1   2.8451 -0.0293  -1.0%  2.8071  2.8967   49,054   50,807
HOc2   2.8588 -0.0298  -1.0%  2.8221  2.9100   33,047   26,368
TOTAL MARKET            VOLUME                 OPEN  INTEREST

          CURRENT    May 16   30D AVG     May 16  NET CHNG
CRUDE        726,522   678,592   679,386  1,629,846    21,114
RBOB         165,598   204,499   146,328    282,314     2,741
HO           131,113   116,462   119,547    311,202     4,372

(Reporting by Gene Ramos; Editing by David Gregorio)

(Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/17/markets-energy-nymex-idUSN1718132320110517)