* U.S. May retail sales dip, but less than feared * U.S. discount to Brent hits record above $22/bbl * Coming up: API oil data at 4:30 p.m. EDT on Tuesday NEW YORK, June 14 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures seesawed near flat after briefly turning higher on Tuesday in choppy trading after a report showing U.S. May retail sales did not slump as much as expected. Retail sales fell in May for the first time in 11 months, dragged down by a sharp drop in receipts from auto dealerships, but the slip was less than had been forecast. [ID:nCAT005457] A separate report showed U.S. producer prices rose more than expected in May but the pace of increases eased from prior months as the climb in energy costs slowed. [ID:N14189699] The discount of U.S. crude futures to ICE Brent crude futures CL-LCO1=R widened to another record high on Tuesday rising above $22.50 a barrel. [ID:nL9E7GQ00J] Weekly reports on U.S. oil inventory reports are expected to show crude stocks fell last week on reduced imports and more refinery use encouraged by healthy crack spreads, or profit margins, according to a Reuters survey of analysts on Monday. [EIA/S] Distillate and gasoline stockpiles were expected to be up. The report from the industry group American Petroleum Institute is due to arrive at 4:30 p.m. EDT (2030 GMT) on Tuesday. FUNDAMENTALS * On the New York Mercantile Exchange, July crude CLN1 rose 9 cents to $97.39 a barrel by 9:10 a.m. EDT (1310 GMT), trading from $96.51 to $97.81. * China's implied oil demand in May topped the 9 million barrel-per-day mark for the seventh month in a row. But Reuters calculations based on preliminary government data showed that May oil demand, a combination of crude throughput and net imports of oil products, totaled 9.27 million bpd, down from 9.36 million bpd in April. Year-on-year growth rate slowed to 8.3 percent, the lowest since October 2010. [ID:nL3E7HE0E4] * China's industrial output in May beat market expectations with a 13.3 percent from a year ago, but was slightly off April's 13.4 percent expansion. [ID:nB9E7GG00R] * Saudi Arabia's crude output is expected to jump to nearly 10 million bpd in June but could pump slightly less in July, industry sources said. [ID:nLDE75D08W] * French President Nicolas Sarkozy called for tighter controls on the speculators he blames for spiraling food and energy prices, warning that such rising costs threatened global economic growth. [ID:nLDE75D162] MARKETS NEWS * U.S. stock index futures added gains following data on retail sales and producer prices. [.N] * The euro and high-yielding currencies rose, boosted by improved risk appetite after Chinese data eased global growth concerns and shrugging off a hike in Chinese banks' reserve requirements. The dollar index .DXY, measuring the greenback against a basket of currencies, was weaker. [USD/] * Gold rallied on bargain-buying demand by jewelers, a weak dollar and worries over Greece's debt crisis. [GOL/] [FRX/] * World stocks got a lift from Chinese data while euro zone debt got pressured as talks dragged on over a new bailout for Greece. [MKTS/GLOB] UPCOMING DATA/EVENTS * American Petroleum Institute weekly oil inventory data released at 4:30 p.m. EDT (2030 GMT) on Tuesday. * U.S. Energy Information Administration oil inventory data released at 10:30 a.m. EDT (1430 GMT) on Wednesday. * U.S. Energy Information Administration natural gas storage data released at 10:30 a.m. EDT (1430 GMT) on Thursday. 9:10 LAST NET PCT LOW HIGH CURRENT DAY AGO CHNG CHNG VOL VOL CLc1 97.39 0.09 0.1% 96.51 97.81 69,071 379,238 CLc2 97.89 0.06 0.1% 97.01 98.32 25,663 147,708 LCOc1 119.98 0.89 0.8% 118.56 120.24 63,457 232,153 RBc1 3.0489 0.0521 1.7% 2.9968 3.0555 10,248 47,492 RBc2 3.0201 0.0412 1.4% 2.9741 3.0281 8,086 24,536 HOc1 3.1299 0.0238 0.8% 3.0912 3.1363 6,126 41,924 HOc2 3.1431 0.0229 0.7% 3.1053 3.1497 3,447 15,707 * NYMEX crude oil for July CLc1 rose 9 cents to $97.39 a barrel by 9:10 a.m. in volume of 69,071 lots. (Reporting by Robert Gibbons; Editing by Alden Bentley)

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