NYMEX-Crude ends down as equities dip, dollar rises

* Wall Street down on bank failure worry, shrugs off data

* U.S. dollar up on safe-haven appeal as equities fall

* Inventory data forecast: crude stocks fell

NEW YORK, Sept 1 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures ended
lower for a second day in a row on Tuesday as Wall Street slid
on worries over potential bank failures.

The dollar rose as its safe-haven appeal was enhanced as
equities tumbled, also pressuring crude oil futures..

Earlier gains driven by positive manufacturing and pending
home sales data had evaporated as equities investors turned
cautious, saying the market may have sped ahead of itself.

"The dollar is strengthening and equities are coming off
hard, so we did the same," said Tom Knight, a trader at Truman
Arnold in Texarkana, Texas.

Traders were awaiting inventory data for the week to Aug.
28 to be issued by industry group American Petroleum Institute
at 4:30 p.m. EDT (2030 GMT).

U.S. crude inventories were projected to have fallen
600,000 barrels last week in an expanded Reuters poll of
analysts. The poll showed analysts forecast gasoline stocks
down 900,000 barrels and distillate supplies up 600,000
barrels. [EIA/S]

The U.S. Energy Information Administration will release its
inventory report on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. EDT (1430 GMT).

The U.S. manufacturing sector grew in August for the first
time in more than a year and a half, while pending home sales
surged to a two-year high in July, adding more evidence that
the longest economic slowdown since the Great Depression is
ending. [ID:nN01376541]

Early support for crude came from China, where the official
purchasing managers index for August reached a 16-month high,
according to surveys released on Tuesday. [ID:nPEK62430]

A sharp drop in Chinese equities on Monday spurred worries
about oil demand and economic growth, causing a sharp fall in
NYMEX crude.

In late trading, U.S. stocks indexes were down almost 2
percent on a sell-off of financial shares. [.N]

The dollar and the yen rose as fears of further U.S. bank
failures overshadowed strong U.S. manufacturing data. [USD/]

PRICES

* On the New York Mercantile Exchange, October crude CLV9
settled down $1.91, or 2.73 percent, at $68.05 a barrel,
trading from $68 to $71.37.

* In London, October Brent crude LCOV9 ended down $1.92,
or 2.76 percent, at $67.73 a barrel, trading from $67.61 to
$71.05.

* NYMEX October RBOB RBV9 ended down 2.77 cents, or 1.53
percent, at $1.7822 a gallon, trading from $1.7800 to $1.8559.

* NYMEX October HOV9 heating oil finished 4.96 cents
lower, or 2.74 percent, at $1.7589 a gallon, trading from
$1.7576 to $1.8481.

* The October/October RBOB crack spread <0#RB-CL=R> ended
at $6.80, rising from $6.06 on Monday. The October/October
heating oil crack spread <0#CL-HO=R> ended at $5.82, down from
$6 on Monday.

* The spread between the current front month and the
five-year forward crude contract CLc61 was at $14.44,
widening from $14.01 on Monday. The October 2014 contract
settled on Tuesday at $82.49, down $1.48, or 1.76 percent.

TECHNICALS

NYMEX crude 10-day/20-day moving average: $72.51/72.84

Technical support/resistance:

NYMEX crude: $66.94/71.35

NYMEX heating oil: $1.8085/$1.7790

NYMEX RBOB: $1.8000/$1.9847

For a full report on technicals, click on [ID:nL1629214]

MARKET NEWS

* U.S. retail gasoline demand dropped 2.9 percent
week-on-week as tropical storm Danny depressed gasoline demand
on the East Coast, according to a MasterCard SpendingPulse
report released Tuesday. [ID:N30489915]

* A broad, low-pressure area about 275 miles east of the
Leeward Islands in the western Atlantic Ocean had a high chance
of becoming a tropical depression or tropical storm in the next
two days, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
[ID:nN01475698]

* BP Products North America reported flaring at its
refinery in Texas City, Texas, affecting an ultraformer and
other units, the company said in a filing with state
regulators. [ID:nSP489513]
(Reporting by Gene Ramos and Rebekah Kebede; Editing by Walter
Bagley)