Oil falls over $2

Oil prices fell more than $2 on Wednesday as concerns that slowing economic growth will curb petroleum demand were reinforced by disappointing reports on US private sector employment and manufacturing.
US private employers added a paltry 38,000 jobs in May, a report by ADP Employer Services said, below expectations and the lowest level since September 2010.
Another industry report showed the pace US manufacturing sector growth slowed more than expected to its lowest level in more than 1-1/2 years.
The weak data sent US equities more than 2 percent lower in their worst day in more than two months.
"The petroleum markets are on the defensive ... after the S&P 500 weakened following a disappointing ADP payroll report," Timothy Evans, energy analyst for Citi Futures Perspective in New York, said in a note.
The data arrived ahead of the key US May nonfarm payrolls report due on Friday and followed news that European manufacturing growth slipped sharply and China's factories expanded in May at their slowest pace in at least nine months.
Brent crude for July delivery fell $2.20 to settle at $114.53 a barrel, retreating from an earlier $117.28 peak. US July crude fell $2.41 to settle at $100.29 a barrel, having briefly dipped below $100 a barrel.
Another sign of slowing economic recovery arrived in the form of data showing US retail gasoline demand fell last week versus a year earlier, though the MasterCard report showed demand up versus the previous week as drivers geared up ahead of the Memorial Day holiday weekend.
US gasoline futures also tumbled more than 2 percent, ending below benchmark distillate heating oil futures.
Moody's ratings agency downgraded Greece's credit rating, helping lift the dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies.
The dollar's earlier weakness did not stem oil's tumble. A weak dollar usually is supportive to dollar-denominated oil.
Rising tensions in the Middle East supported oil early, before the economic data sent prices in retreat.
Explosions ripped through a northern area of Yemen's capital and a powerful tribal group backing the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Saleh battled security forces in the country that borders Saudi Arabia.
Pipeline disruptions helped oil rally $2 on Tuesday, but TransCanada Corp said it expects to restart its 591,000 barrel per day (bpd) Keystone pipeline running from Alberta, Canada, to the Cushing, Oklahoma, oil hub after the second spill in less than a month forced it to shut on Sunday. Enbridge Inc restored power on Wednesday to three pumping stations on a 290,000 bpd pipeline that had lost electricity supply after severe storms.
US crude oil and distillate inventories were expected to have fallen last week, with gasoline stocks increasing, according to an expanded Reuters poll of analysts on Wednesday.
The industry group American Petroleum Institute provides investors their first snapshot of weekly US oil data when the API releases its inventory data at 4:30 pm EDT (2030 GMT) on Wednesday.
The government's report from the US Energy Information Administration will follow on Thursday morning.