SEOUL, May 3 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures fell half a percent in early Asian trade on Tuesday as the dollar edged up from a three-year low, but were still $2 above the Monday low hit after news of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden's death.
FUNDAMENTALS
* NYMEX crude for June delivery
* Brent crude for June
* World leaders said the world is safer with bin Laden dead, but warned of possible revenge attacks. [ID:nL3E7G21FJ]
* Members of militant Islamist forums vowed on Monday to avenge the U.S. killing of Osama bin Laden, while others prayed the news was not true. [ID:nLDE7410HZ]
* U.S. crude stocks are forecast to have risen 1.9 million barrels as higher imports were expected to outpace refinery utilisation.
* In Libya, forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi stepped up their onslaught on rebel areas of Libya's Western Mountains late on Monday, rebels said, and refugees said towns in the isolated region were on the brink of starvation. [ID:nLDE7411YX]
* Yemeni activists urged street protesters on Monday not to raise banners of Osama bin Laden to avoid triggering a harsher crackdown on demonstrations seeking democratic change in the al Qaeda leader's ancestral homeland. [ID:nLDE7410K6]
* Security forces on Monday rounded up hundreds of pro-democracy sympathisers, including prominent human rights campaigner Diana Jawabra for the second time during Syria's uprising, witnesses said. [ID:nLDE7410V4]
MARKETS NEWS
* The dollar struggled to pull away from a three-year trough early in Asia on Tuesday, with higher-yielding currencies like the Australian dollar still in favour even as markets become more concerned over stretched positions. [ID:nL3E7G23BW]
* U.S. stocks erased gains, ending slightly down as investors concluded Osama bin Laden's death will do little to ease global economic and political risks.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0500 India HSBC Markit Mfg PMI Apr 2011
0743 Italy Markit/ADACI Mfg PMI Apr 2011
0753 Germany Markit/BME Mfg PMI Apr 2011
0758 EZ Markit Mfg PMI Apr 2011
1400 U.S. ISM Manufacturing PMI Apr
1400 U.S. Construction spending Mar (Reporting by Cho Mee-young)