TOKYO, May 7 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures eased on Tuesday to below $96 a barrel on profit-taking, after gaining more than $5 in the previous three sessions as Mideast tensions raised supply concerns.
FUNDAMENTALS
* NYMEX crude for June delivery
The contract rose as high as $97.17 on Monday, the highest since April 2.
* London Brent crude for June delivery
Brent has rebounded more than $6 a barrel since falling below $99 last Wednesday, its largest three-day rise since August 2012.
* European purchasing managers' indexes (PMIs) on Monday suggested the euro zone was on course for a steeper downturn in the current quarter.
* In the week to April 30, hedge funds and other large speculators increased bets on higher Brent prices, upping their net long positions by 9,614 contracts to 108,741, according to data from the IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) released on Monday.
* Crude supply from Saudi Arabia, the region's top exporter, to its domestic and export markets rose slightly in April to 9.2 million barrels per day, from 9.15 million bpd supplied in March, an industry source said on Monday.
* U.S. commercial crude oil stockpiles were forecast to have risen by 1.8 million barrels last week after hitting a record high, a preliminary Reuters poll showed on Monday, ahead of the release of data from American Petroleum Institute later on Tuesday.
Distillate stocks, which include heating oil and diesel fuel, are projected to have increased by 600,000 barrels, while gasoline inventories were forecast to have risen by 400,000 barrels, the poll showed.
MARKETS NEWS
* The S&P 500 closed at another record high, pushing further above 1,600 as financial shares led the way after Bank of America settled a long running dispute with bond insurer MBIA.
* The euro struggled to gain any momentum in early Asian trade on Tuesday, while the Australian dollar nursed losses as bears bet on the prospect of a cut in interest rates later in the session.
DATA/EVENTS
* The following data is expected on Tuesday: (Time in GMT)
- 1145 U.S. ICSC chain stores weekly
- 1255 U.S. Redbook retail sales weekly
- 1400 U.S. IBD economic optimism May
- 1900 U.S. Consumer credit March
- 2030 American Petroleum Institute oil report
(Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori; Editing by Richard Pullin)
((osamu.tsukimori@thomsonreuters.com, +813 6441 1857, Reuters Messaging: osamu.tsukimori.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
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Keywords: MARKETS ASIA/NYMEX