SINGAPORE, April 26 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures fell in early trade on Tuesday as investors were uncertain whether the U.S. Federal Reserve would signal a change in its easy monetary policy after a two-day meeting of policymakers that concludes on Wednesday.
FUNDAMENTALS
* NYMEX crude for June delivery
* Saudi Aramco's chief executive, Khalid al-Falih, said on Tuesday Saudi Arabia had enough spare crude capacity to meet demand, as oil prices extend a rise above $120 per barrel.[ID:nL3E7FP01S]
* Oil prices slipped on Monday in thin, choppy trade as a sell-off in silver from near record highs lifted the dollar off its lows, prompting a bout of profit-taking in crude.
* The United States is considering sanctions against Syrian government officials to increase pressure on President Basher al-Assad to end a violent crackdown on protesters, a U. S. official said on Monday. [ID:nN25199030]
* Refugees fleeing Libya's Western Mountains told of heavy bombardment by leader Muammar Gaddafi's forces as they try to dislodge rebels in remote Berber towns. The capture of the Dehiba-Wazin crossing on the Tunisian border by rebels last week has let refugees flee in cars or on foot along rocky paths, swelling the numbers of Libyans sheltering in southern Tunisia to an estimated 30,000 people. [ID:nLDE73O0I2]
* The final stage in Nigeria's long election process begins on Tuesday with fiercely contested state governorship polls to be held from the southern oil delta to the Muslim north, where hundreds have been killed in unrest. [ID:nLDE73O09M]
* Saudi Aramco's chief executive also said the company's daily refining capacity would soon grow 50 percent from its current level to more than 6 million barrels per day. [ID:nN25227819]
MARKETS NEWS
* The dollar fell to a four-week low against the yen on Tuesday. The euro rose against the dollar the previous day in a volatile but illiquid session with investors reluctant to make large bets in case the U.S. Federal Reserve shows no sign this week of changing its easy monetary policy.
* Silver surged as much as 8 percent on Monday before pulling back sharply when a failure to pierce the all-time high from 1980 unleashed a wave of technical selling amid record volume in U. s. futures.
* In the lightest volume session of the year, U. s. stocks fell on Monday after a lowered outlook from Kimberly-Clark increased concerns about higher commodity costs squeezing profits in coming quarters.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT) :
2350 Japan Retail sales Mar
:: U.S. Start of two-day FOMC meet
1145 U.S. ICSC chain stores yy Weekly
1255 U.S. Redbook mm Weekly
1400 U.S. Consumer confidence Apr
1400 U.S. Richmond Fed mfg Apr
2030 U.S. API weekly crude stocks Apr 22
2030 U.S. API weekly dist. stocks Apr 22
2030 U.S. API weekly gasoline stk Apr 22
:: U.S. Build permits R chg mm Mar
RECENT CRUDE OIL TRADES
Asia... Europe... Americas...
CRUDE OIL MARKET NEWS
Crude oil tenders in Asia........................
Crude oil supply outages in Asia............
Refinery outages in Asia....................
Global arbitrage news and flows.................
W.African crude imports to Asia, monthly........
REFINERY MAINTENANCE DIARIES
Asia... Middle East... Europe...
NATIONAL CRUDE IMPORT DATA
Japan..............
China..............
India..............
S.Korea............
Indonesia.......
CRUDE OIL INVENTORY DATA
Japan... US... Europe...
CRUDE OIL PRODUCTION/OILFIELD NEWS
OPEC output survey... New Asian fields.
New projects......
CRUDE OIL MARKET REPORTS
Middle East........... Asia-Pacific........
West Africa......... North Sea............
Asia outlook....... Europe outlook.....
Global futures report... Technicals report......
PRICES
For all Official Selling Prices......................
For a POLL on oil prices............................
NYMEX and ICE oil futures...........................
TOCOM crude oil futures.............................<0#JCO:>
Dubai, Oman swaps and spread...............
Middle East physical crude diffs...............
Australia physical crude, Tapis swaps..........
Asia-Pacific physical crude....................
All Asian crude oil differentials................<0#C-DIF-A>
All Asian crude oil outright prices..................<0#C-A> (Reporting by Manash Goswami; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)