* Dollar strengthens 2.5 percent against basket of currencies
* Brent premium over U.S. crude remains above $21/bbl
* Front-month Brent climbs ahead of expiry on Wednesday
By Alejandro Barbajosa
SINGAPORE, June 15 (Reuters) - Oil fell on Wednesday as the dollar strengthened after euro zone ministers failed to reach agreement on a second bailout for Greece, while rising gasoline stockpiles in top consumer the United States signalled fuel demand is stalling.
Brent crude for August
U.S. gasoline inventories rose by 1.1 million barrels last week, industry group American Petroleum Institute said, their sixth consecutive gain and in line with forecasts. That moderated the bullish effect of a drop in crude stockpiles, which fell 3 million barrels, twice as much as expected.
"We know that gasoline demand is still slow despite falling prices, so we don't see a very positive side for growth," said Tetsu Emori, a fund manager at Tokyo-based Astmax Co Ltd.
"There's a bit of profit-taking after the price increase over the past few days. People are also focused on and worrying about how Europe's sovereign credit issues will be solved."
The dollar gained 0.25 percent against a basket of currencies after euro zone ministers failed to agree on how private holders of Greek debt should share the costs of a new bailout, putting the onus on the leaders of Germany and France to forge a deal later this week.
Nervous markets pushed the bond yields of Greece, Ireland and Portugal to their highest levels since the introduction of the euro in 1999.
The premium of front-month Brent to U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) hovered more than $1 below Tuesday's record $22.79 a barrel, at around $21.35.
Brent on Tuesday reached a five-week high and U.S. crude rose more than 2 percent as data from top oil consumers the United States and China eased concerns about the global economy and the threat to oil demand.
While U.S. retail sales fell in May for the first time in 11 months, the slip was less than expected. Producer prices rose less than expected, braking sharply from April.
U.S. retail gasoline demand climbed slightly last week from a year earlier, by 0.2 percent, a second consecutive rise as pump prices continue to ease, a report by MasterCard Advisors' SpendingPulse showed on Tuesday.
Gasoline demand broke a near two-month long slump in the first week of June with data that included the Memorial Day weekend, marking the start of the summer driving season, showing demand rising 0.5 percent from a year ago.
Over the latest four weeks, however, average U.S. gasoline consumption was down 1 percent from year-earlier levels.
China's implied oil demand in May topped the 9 million barrel-per-day mark for the seventh consecutive month, taken as another signal that a tap on the economic brake by authorities had not hurt demand for petroleum.
But Reuters calculations based on preliminary government data did show that while May oil demand was up versus the year-ago period, the growth rate slowed to its lowest since October and demand slipped sightly from April.
(Editing by Clarence Fernandez)