NYMEX crude down as dollar firms, Grangemouth eyed

NEW YORK, April 24 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures fell on Thursday, pressured by the dollar's bounce up versus the euro.

"This morning's sell-off has been engineered by the strengthening of the dollar," said Nauman Barakat, senior vice president at Macquarie Futures USA.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange at 12:19 a.m. EDT (1619 GMT), June crude CLM8 was down $1.59, or 1.34 percent, at $116.71 per barrel, trading from $115.55 to $118.30.

Front-month NYMEX crude futures set an intraday record of $119.90 on Tuesday.

The U.S. dollar was up versus both the euro EUR= and the yen JPY=, though gains were pared after news of an unexpectedly low reading on U.S. March new home sales.

U.S. jobless claims fell sharply last week and durable goods orders showed resilience in March, but new home sales plummeted, according to data. [ID:nN24402636]

The power station at the Grangemouth refinery in Britain will shut on Saturday due to a two-day strike to start Sunday and will force BP Plc's Kinneil Forties oil processing plant to shut, a union official said Thursday. [ID:nL24257080]

In London, June Brent crude LCOM8 was down $1.58, or 1.36 percent, at $114.88 a barrel, trading $114.12 to $116.87.

OPEC exports, excluding Angola and Ecuador, will rise 180,000 barrels per day in the four weeks to May 10 on the back of strong Asian demand, especially into China, according to data from British consultancy Oil Movements. [ID:nL24737493]