* U.S. RBOB gasoline futures down almost 5 percent
* Money managers unwinding oil trades in latest CFTC data
* Strauss-Kahn sexual assault charges roil currency market
* Crude bounces briefly after Merkel comments on Greece (Recasts, updates with closing prices, trade volume)
By David Sheppard
NEW YORK, May 16 (Reuters) - Gasoline futures tumbled nearly 5 percent on Monday, dragging crude oil down $2 and extending crude's slump this month to about 15 percent as concern mounted about energy demand and the economy.
U.S. wholesale gasoline prices fell 4.7 percent to close below $3 a gallon for the first time since March. The sell-off came on signs of weakening demand in the world's largest oil consumer, and after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers opened a spillway along the Mississippi River at the weekend, making it less likely floods will hit U.S. refinery operations.
The heavy midday sell-off in gasoline turned back a brief rally spurred by the euro's rise off of a seven-week low against the dollar as a European Union meeting showed support for debt-burdened countries. [FRX/]
"It's notable that RBOB (gasoline) which led the complex up is now leading it down," said John Kilduff, a hedge fund manager at Again Capital LLC in New York, adding there was a sense of "declining economic activity and a negative impact on demand outlook."
U.S. data showed manufacturing growth in New York State slowed much more than expected in May, while U.S. homebuilders struggled to find buyers. [ID:nN16284696]
U.S. crude futures for June delivery
June Brent
RBOB gasoline futures
Oil traders were nervous about mounting volatility. Prices have whipsawed since the 10 percent price crash on May 5, and they traded in a large $11 range last week.
Trade volumes slowed on Monday after surging throughout the volatilie trade seen in May. Brent trade volumes were 15 percent below the 30-day average by 3 p.m. EDT, with U.S. futures volume down 13 percent.
On Friday, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed hedge funds and other large financial investors had been substantially cutting bets on higher oil prices, while some had been increasing bets that prices were set to fall. However the funds are still holding near record net length. [CFTC/]
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For a 24-hour technical outlook on Brent:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/WT1/20111605082724.jpg
For a 24-hour technical outlook on U.S. oil:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/WT1/20111605081607.jpg
For a PDF on commodities market rout:
http://link.reuters.com/xer49r
For a TAKE-A-LOOK on IMF chief: [ID:nLDE74E04O]
Read Reuters commodity analyst John Kemp on the CFTC data:
[ID:nLDE74F10H]
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Analyst Timothy Evans at Citi Futures Perspective in New York said gasoline came under pressure when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers opened the Morganza spillway to relieve flooding.
"Speculators who had loaded up long positions in gasoline in recent weeks, in part on the idea that flooding would cut supplies, are running for the exits now," Evans said.
"Worries that high retail gasoline prices were crimping demand are also weighing on gasoline, particularly after the Department of Energy data showed the lowest weekly gasoline offtake since February, with the four-week average off 2.4 percent from a year ago."
EURO ZONE
The euro touched its lowest since March before recovering after German Chancellor Angela Merkel said it would be "incredibly damaging" for the euro zone's credibility if Greece restructured its debt payments.
Euro zone finance ministers met to discuss the debt crisis. Sexual assault charges against International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn in New York over the weekend raised fears a new head could be tougher on heavily indebted peripheral members. [ID:nLDE68T0MG]
Dollar-denominated commodities often move inversely to the dollar, and a stronger U.S. currency typically pressures oil.
Unrest in the Middle East and North Africa is helping support oil and investors still worry the turmoil could spread to other oil-exporting nations in the region.
Gunmen on motorcycles attacked a car belonging to the Saudi Arabian consulate in the Pakistani city of Karachi on Monday killing a Saudi diplomat. (Additional reporting by Gene Ramos in New York, Christopher Johnson in London and Manash Goswami in Singapore; editing by Dale Hudson and David Gregorio)