NYMEX-Oil falls as Libyan rebels advance

                                
 * U.S. says rebels could sell Libyan crude oil
                                
 * UAE steps in to help make for lost Libya output
                                
 * COMING UP: Weekly API petroleum stocks data, 2030 GMT

                                
 SINGAPORE, March 29 (Reuters) - U.S. oil prices eased on
Tuesday for a fourth day after Libyan rebels, with the help of
Western-led air strikes, pressed forward against embattled
leader Muammar Gaddafi.	
                                
 	
                                
 FUNDAMENTALS	
                                
 * NYMEX crude futures for May delivery <CLc1> slipped 24
cents to $103.74 a barrel by 0001 GMT, adding to losses of more
than $1 the previous session. The market has fallen around $2
since Wednesday.	
                                
 * Libyan rebels took the town of Nawfaliyah and moved
towards Sirte, Gaddafi's home town and an important military
base, in the sixth week of an uprising against his 41-year rule.
[ID:nLDE72R009]	
                                
 * U.S. President Barack Obama said military actions taken by
coalition forces have stopped Gaddafi's forces from advancing.
[ID:nWEN0156]	
                                
 * A U.S. Treasury official said rebels could sell Libyan
crude free from sanctions imposed against transactions with the
Gaddafi's government.	
                                
 * The United Arab Emirates said it has "stepped in" to help
make for lost output from Libya, and acknowledged that other
OPEC producers have done the same by unilaterally boosting
output, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Angola.
[ID:nLDE72R248]	
                                
 * In Syria, forces fired into the air to disperse a
pro-democracy protest in the southern flashpoint city of Deraa,
where reformists want to overthrow the 41-year rule of the Assad
family. [ID:nLDE72R0XJ]	
                                
 * Talks in Yemen to broker a transition from President Ali
Abdullah Saleh to his opponents have stalled in a public game of
brinkmanship, but sources close to the talks said a deal was
still within reach. [ID:nLDE72R0JA]	
                                
 * U.S. crude oil inventories likely rose last week in
keeping with seasonal trends and with imports expected to be
rising to meet demand as refiners bring units back from
maintenance, a preliminary Reuters survey of analysts showed.
 	
                                
 	
                                
 MARKET NEWS	
                                
 * The euro rose on expectations of higher euro-zone interest
rates while U.S. stocks slipped as concerns about the Middle
East and Japan outweighed positive economic data. 	
                                
 * U.S. consumers increased spending for an eighth straight
month in February, but much of the gain went to cover rising
food and energy costs, providing only a modest lift to the
economy. [ID:nN28176308]	
                                
 * Plutonium found in soil at the crippled Fukushima nuclear
complex heightened alarm over Japan's protracted battle to
contain the world's worst atomic crisis in 25 years.
[ID:nL3E7ES2ND]	
                                
 * Portugal's president decided to call a council of state on
March 31 to consider when to hold a snap election as the
country's bond yields spiked to record highs on political
uncertainty after the prime minister resigned. [ID:nLDE72R1RI]	
                                
 	
                                
 DATA/EVENTS (GMT)	
                                
 1400 U.S. Consumer confidence Mar              
                                
2030 U.S. API petroleum stocks Weekly            
  2300 S.Korea GDP growth yy Revised Oct 2010      
 2350 Japan Industrial output prelim mm Feb 2011    
2350 Japan IP forecast 1 mth ahead Feb 2011        	
	
 (Reporting by Randy Fabi; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)