NYMEX-Crude slips on economic worry, May to expiry

* Global equities weaker, Wall Street mixed early

* U.S. crude oil inventories expected to have risen

NEW YORK, April 21 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil future fell
on Tuesday as faltering confidence in a quick economic recovery
and bank stability that pressured global equities pushed crude
oil prices lower.

With the NYMEX May crude oil contract approaching
expiration, Tuesday's tumble follows a more than 8 percent drop
the previous day and comes ahead of inventory data expected to
show U.S. crude oil supplies rose again last week.

"There seemed to be a consensus forming that perhaps the
worst was over for the burdened global macro economy. This
position may be problematic in the wake of recent data," John
Kilduff, senior vice president at MF Global, said in a note.

"There has been no definitive stream of evidence to support
the turnaround theory," Kilduff added.

Wall Street had a choppy opening. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq
turned positive after initially falling, and the Dow Jones
industrial average slipped. [.N]

World stocks sold off after a more than one-month long
rally lost some of its luster due to renewed worries about the
state of the banking industry. [MKTS/GLOB]

Weekly U.S. petroleum inventory data was expected to show
that crude oil supplies rose last week, according to a Reuters
analyst survey on Monday. [ID:nN20407232]

The survey also forecast that distillate supplies would
show gasoline and distillate inventories fell. Refinery
utilization was forecast to have risen 0.5 percentage point to
80.9 percent of capacity.

Industry group American Petroleum Institute will issue its
inventory report on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. EDT (2030 GMT). The
U.S. Energy Information Administration will release its data on
Wednesday at 10:30 a.m EDT (1430 GMT).

PRICES

On the New York Mercantile Exchange at 10:13 a.m. EDT (1413
GMT), May crude CLK9 was down 98 cents, or 2.14 percent, at
$44.90 a barrel, trading from $43.83 to $46.25.

* June crude CLM9 fell 92 cents, or 1.9 percent, to
$47.59 a barrel, trading from $46.72 to $49.

* In London, June Brent crude LCOM9 fell 75 cents, or 1.5
percent, to $49.11 a barrel, trading from $48.31 to $49.86.

* NYMEX May RBOB RBK9 fell 2.88 cents, or 2.04 percent,
to $1.3831 a gallon, trading from $1.3631 to $1.4212.

* NYMEX May heating oil HOK9 fell 2.25 cents, or 1.69
percent, to $1.3091 a gallon, trading from $1.2979 to $1.3528.

* The May/May RBOB crack spread <0#RB-CL=R> was at $13.41 a
barrel. It ended at $13.42 on Monday. The May/May heating oil
crack spread <0#CL-HO=R> was at $10.47. It ended Monday at
$10.04.

* The spread between the current front month and the
five-year forward crude contract CLc61 was at $27.46, based
on the May 2014 contract's Monday settlement at $72.36. The
spread ended at $26.48 on Monday.

TECHNICALS

NYMEX crude 10-day/20-day moving average: $49.17/$50.39

Technical support/resistance:

NYMEX crude: $45.95/$50.38

NYMEX heating oil: $1.27/$1.4035

NYMEX RBOB: $1.3315/1.4470

For a report on technicals click [ID:nLL414719]

MARKET NEWS

* The euro rose versus the yen and bounced from one-month
lows versus the dollar, though gains were limited. [USD/]

* Iran's OPEC governor said if the market continued to be
oversupplied OPEC may decide to cut output. [ID:nHAF130529]

* Norway's ruling Labor Party decided to maintain its 2010
deadline on whether to open for oil and gas activity the
pristine and potentially resource-rich Lofoten region in the
Arctic. [ID:nLL698640]
(Reporting by Robert Gibbons; editing by Jim Marshall)