* Global shares on track for biggest 1-day fall in 4 weeks
* Oil falls sharply on demand fears, Goldman warning
* Yen up as investors unwind carry trades; dollar down (Updates to market close, updates prices)
By Wanfeng Zhou
NEW YORK, April 12 (Reuters) - Oil prices suffered their biggest two-day loss in 11 months and stocks dropped on Tuesday on concerns about the strength of global growth and as Goldman Sachs warned crude was set for a pullback.
The price of crude traded in New York slid more than 3 percent, bringing losses since Friday to 5.8 percent. Goldman Sachs predicted Brent prices would fall back to $105 in "coming months," down from $120 on Tuesday, and the International Energy Agency said high prices could be eroding demand.
World stocks, as measured by the MSCI's main world equity index <.MIWD00000PUS>, were down 1.3 percent, the index's biggest one-day decline in four weeks.
Worries over global growth were heightened after Japan's economic minister warned that damage caused by last month's earthquake and tsunami could be worse than initially thought for the world's third-largest economy. [ID:nL3E7FC092]
Japan's decision to put the severity of radiation leakage at its stricken Fukushima nuclear plant on a par with the worst nuclear disaster, at Chernobyl, also weighed on sentiment. [ID:nL3E7FB2TZ]
"The market is increasingly becoming concerned about the situation in Japan and that high oil prices and high commodity prices will eventually hurt economic growth," said Mark Bronzo, money manager at Security Global Investors in Irvington, New York.
U.S. stocks ended lower after disappointing revenue figures
from aluminum maker Alcoa Inc
The S&P energy index <.GSPE> , the market's top performer in the first quarter, shed 3 percent.
"The leadership has been for the longest time in those sectors that are highly related to global growth and commodity prices. So once the commodity space starts rolling over, then equities are poised to follow," said Robert Van Batenburg, head of equity research at Louis Capital in New York.
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> dropped 117.53 points, or 0.95 percent, to end at 12,263.58. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> dropped 10.30 points, or 0.78 percent, to 1,314.16. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> dropped 26.72 points, or 0.96 percent, to 2,744.79.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index <.FTEU3> of top European shares slipped 1.7 percent, with miners and energy firms among the heaviest losers. Emerging markets <.MSCIEF>, which count several resource exporters in their ranks, fell 1.9 percent.
Brent crude oil
"Fear of demand destruction is killing this market. There is a feeling that the recent rally lifted oil prices to unsustainable levels," said Phil Flynn, analyst at PFGBest Research in Chicago.
Spot gold
The Reuters-Jefferies CRB index <.CRB>, a global commodities benchmark, fell about 2 percent in its sharpest one-day decline in a month as raw materials markets came under pressure from the sell-off in oil. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
For oil futures positions vs. oil price since 2007:
http://r.reuters.com/duc98r
All Commodities Futures Trading Commission positions:
http://r.reuters.com/buv87r ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
SAFE-HAVEN DEMAND
Safe-haven demand boosted Treasury prices. The benchmark
10-year U.S. Treasury note
The yen and Swiss franc rose sharply as jittery investors sold riskier trades funded by borrowing in the two low-yielding currencies.
"Carry trades are owned heavily and looked overextended, especially the yen crosses. These are the ones looking shaky," said Tom Fitzpatrick, chief technical strategist at CitiFX in New York.
The yen firmed to a 1-1/2-week high versus the U.S. dollar
The dollar fell 1.2 percent against the Swiss franc
The euro rose to a 15-month high against the dollar above $1.45, boosted by reported buying from China and news that China, the world's second-largest economy, was willing to purchase more Spanish debt.
Dovish comments from key U.S. Federal Reserve officials weighed on dollar sentiment. Two of the Fed's most powerful officials, Janet Yellen and William Dudley, said the U.S. central bank should stick to its super-easy monetary policy as inflation is not a threat and unemployment remains too high. [ID:nN11296347]
The U.S. dollar index <.DXY>, which tracks the greenback against a basket of major currencies, was down 0.3 percent at 74.835 after hitting 74.704, its lowest since December 2009. (Additional reporting by Robert Gibbons, Angela Moon and Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss in New York; Editing by Leslie Adler)