* Equities, euro, drop on euro zone debt worry, hit oil
* U.S. consumer confidence fell in June, weighs on oil
* Coming up: API oil inventory data, 4:30 p.m. EDT Tuesday
(Updates with settlement prices, market activity)
By Robert Gibbons
NEW YORK, June 29 (Reuters) - Oil prices fell nearly 3
percent on Tuesday as euro zone fiscal problems and downbeat
data on the Chinese and U.S. economies made investors more risk
averse and fueled concerns about economic growth.
U.S. crude for August <CLc1> fell $2.31, or 2.95 percent,
to settle at $75.94 a barrel, having tumbled as low as $75.21.
ICE Brent crude <LCOc1> fell $2.15 to settle at $75.44.
Expectations that Tropical Storm Alex will only skirt the
Gulf of Mexico's main energy production centers kept pressure
on oil prices. Prices hit a seven-week high above $79 a barrel
intraday on Monday, before ending lower as the threat eased.
"It is a return to risk aversion," said Eugen Weinberg, a
commodity analyst at Commerzbank in Frankfurt. "Gold is
outperforming other commodities, a sign of a move to safe
havens, and base metals are down on worries over the economy."
"The oil market is no longer worried about Tropical Storm
Alex as it looks like it will avoid oil facilities."
Oil declined along with equities and the euro on concerns
about whether Europe's banks can repay 442 billion euros
($545.5 billion) to the European Central Bank. []
The mood worsened after a report from the industry group
the Conference Board showed U.S. consumer confidence fell
steeply in June. []
Adding to concerns about economic growth and demand for
oil, the Conference Board corrected its leading economic index
for China to a 0.3 percent gain in April rather than the 1.7
percent rise earlier reported. []
The dollar's strength added pressure to the commodities
complex. A stronger dollar often weighs on commodity markets,
although that correlation has proved erratic this year.
On Tuesday, the Reuters-Jefferies CRB index <.CRB>, a
global commodities benchmark, fell to a two-week low.
ALEX NEARS HURRICANE STRENGTH
The U.S. National Hurricane Center expects Tropical Storm
Alex strengthen into the first hurricane of the Atlantic season
on Tuesday and to make landfall near the Texas-Mexico border
early on Thursday. []
Shell <RDSa.L> and other producers did shut several
thousand barrels per day of production in the Gulf of Mexico
and other companies also removed workers as a precaution.
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Factbox on preparations ahead of Alex []
Take a Look on Tropical Storm Alex []
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U.S. oil inventories are above their average levels,
potentially buffering the effect of weather-related disruptions
as oil traders eye Alex and await weekly inventory reports.
Crude stockpiles likely fell 900,000 barrels last week due
to a decline in imports, a Reuters analyst survey forecast
ahead of industry American Petroleum Institute data due out on
Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. EDT (2030 GMT). []
Inventories of distillates, including heating oil and
diesel fuel, were expected to be up 800,000 barrels, while
gasoline stockpiles were forecast to have fallen 500,000
barrels.
(Additional reporting by Gene Ramos in New York, Christopher
Johnson in London, and Alejandro Barbajosa in Singapore;
Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
