NYMEX-US crude drops below $96 on China, Greece

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FUNDAMENTALS

* NYMEX crude for June slipped 63 cents to $95.50 a barrel by 6:21 a.m. (2221 GMT Sunday), adding to losses of nearly a dollar the previous session.

* Brent crude oil eased 48 cents to $111.78 a barrel.

* Top crude exporter Saudi Arabia wants an oil price of around $100 a barrel and would like to see global inventories rise before demand picks up in the second half of the year, Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said on Sunday.

* China's economy stuttered unexpectedly in April with lower than expected output data, softening retail sales and easing prices suggesting economic headwinds might be stiffer than thought, requiring more robust policy responses to counter them.

* Greek political leaders on Sunday ignored a final plea from the president to form a coalition government to avert a repeat election, pushing the debt-stricken nation closer to bankruptcy and a possible exit from the euro zone.

* Tensions between Iran and the West is likely to keep oil prices high despite a dramatic improvement in world supply and a big build in stocks, the International Energy Agency said on Friday.

MARKETS NEWS

* More volatility could be in store for U.S. stocks this week as investors grapple with less certainty about the U.S. economic outlook and a new blow to the financial sector after JPMorgan Chase's trading loss.

* China's central bank cut the amount of cash that banks must hold as reserves on Saturday, freeing an estimated 400 billion yuan ($63.5 billion) for lending to head-off the risk of a sudden slowdown in the world's second-largest economy.

* U.S. consumer sentiment rose to its highest in more than four years in early May as Americans remained upbeat about the job market, a survey released on Friday showed.

* Spain's clean-up plan for its troubled banks lacks some of the key ingredients that helped other governments restore faith in their financial sectors, restructuring experts said, pointing to a potential need for heavier state intervention.

DATA/EVENTS

* The following data is expected on Monday:

0900 EZ Industrial production yy Mar

China FDI (ytd) May

(Reporting by Randy Fabi; Editing by Marguerita Choy)

Energy Industrials