* Japan grapples with nuclear woes, earthquake aftermath * Libya fighting continues, Saudi troops sent to Bahrain * Coming up: API oil data at 4:30 p.m. EDT Tuesday NEW YORK, March 14 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures fell Monday on expectations that the economic slowing from Japan's earthquake and tsunami will lessen demand. U.S. crude futures dipped below $100 a barrel, but heating oil futures, the benchmark distillate contract on the NYMEX, managed a small gain as Japan's need for distillate fuel for power generation provided support. The conflict in Libya and unrest in Middle East countries continued to be eyed by traders, but worries about the turmoil were not enough to keep crude futures supported on Monday. FUNDAMENTALS * On the New York Mercantile Exchange, April crude CLJ1 fell $1.63, or 1.6 percent, to $99.53 a barrel, trading from $98.47 to $101.15. * Japan scrambled to avert a meltdown at a nuclear plant after a hydrogen explosion at one reactor and exposure of fuel rods at another, just days after a devastating earthquake and tsunami that killed at least 10,000 people. [ID:nL3E7EC0D6] * France stepped up efforts to persuade world powers to impose a no-fly zone over Libya, as Muammar Gaddafi's troops battled rebel fighters for control of the strategic oil town of Brega. [ID:nLDE72D018] * Japan will move quickly to import more liquefied natural gas and low-sulfur fuels to generate power at thermal plants and replace nuclear electricity supplies put out of action following the earthquake. [ID:nL3E7EE025] * Heavy gunfire was heard south of the Yemen capital and soldiers deployed in force in Sanaa itself, with a new wave of rallies reported across the country demanding that President Ali Abdullah Saleh quit. [ID:nLDE72D0SX] * Gulf states were sending troops into the troubled island state of Bahrain in a move Shi'ite opponents of the Saudi-allied, Sunni Muslim rulers of the Gulf kingdom said would be a declaration of war. [ID:nLDE72D0KH] * About 1,000 Saudi soldiers entered Bahrain to protect government facilities following unrest by the country's Shi'ite Muslim majority, a Saudi official source said. [ID:nLDE72D1DS] * Iraq resumed crude pumping through its northern Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline after halting the flow for five days following a bomb attack, two sources at Iraq's North Oil Co said. [ID:nLDE72D1D9] * Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) has called on employees to return to work and is hopeful oil output can soon increase, the head of NOC said. [ID:nLDE72D16W] MARKETS NEWS * U.S. stock index futures fell as investors worried about the impact of Japan's devastating earthquake and tsunami. [.N] * World stocks fell to a six-week low, driven by a 7.5 percent fall in Japanese stocks, while oil tumbled as concerns grew about the economic damage from Japan's earthquake and tsunami. [MKTS/GLOB] * The dollar rebounded from near record lows against the yen after the Bank of Japan announced a series of policy easing measures to shore up the economy in the wake of the earthquake and tsunami. * Gold rose in Europe, recovering some of last week's 1 percent losses, supported by market uncertainty and the blow to market confidence from Friday's earthquake in Japan. [GOL/] UPCOMING DATA/EVENTS * American Petroleum Institute weekly oil inventory data to be released at 4:30 p.m. EDT (2030 GMT) on Tuesday. * U.S. Energy Information Administration's weekly petroleum stocks data, 10:30 a.m. EDT (1430 GMT) Wednesday. 8:43 LAST NET PCT LOW HIGH CURRENT DAY AGO CHNG CHNG VOL VOL CLc1 99.53 -1.63 -1.6% 98.47 101.15 56,980 432,988 CLc2 100.71 -1.64 -1.6% 99.77 102.36 22,050 194,250 LCOc1 112.70 -1.15 -1.0% 111.16 114.18 47,687 165,967 RBc1 2.9487 -0.0390 -1.3% 2.9298 2.9990 3,139 45,410 RBc2 2.9485 -0.0410 -1.4% 2.9300 3.0000 2,998 25,433 HOc1 3.0351 0.0065 0.2% 2.9966 3.0406 6,275 52,873 HOc2 3.0421 0.0042 0.1% 3.0072 3.0474 5,130 25,695 * NYMEX crude oil for April CLc1 fell $1.63 to $99.53 a barrel by 8:43 a.m. in volume of 56,980 lots. (Reporting by Robert Gibbons; Editing by John Picinich)

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