NEW YORK, Oct 4 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures fell more than 2 percent to the lowest price since September 2010 on Tuesday on increasing worry that Greece will default on debt and that global economic slowdown will curb demand for oil and other commodities.
European finance ministers are considering making banks take bigger losses on Greek debt and have postponed a vital aid payment to Athens until mid-November, setting up a crunch point in the euro zone's sovereign debt crisis. [ID:nL5E7L425O]
The euro hit a nine-month low against the dollar and a 10-year trough against the yen as euro-zone policymakers failed to quell rising speculation about a Greek debt default. The dollar index .DXY strengthened, rising to a nine-month high.
U.S. stock index futures fell sharply, with the S&P 500 set to enter a bear market as European officials considered making banks take bigger losses on Greek debt and fears of contagion grew. [.N]
U.S. commercial crude stockpiles are expected to have risen last week as imports continued to increase, a preliminary Reuters poll of analysts found on Monday. [EIA/S]
Industry group the American Petroleum Institute will release its weekly inventory report at 4:30 p.m. EDT (2030 GMT). on Tuesday.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration will issue its own inventory data on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. EDT (1430 GMT).
FUNDAMENTALS
* On the New York Mercantile Exchange, November crude CLX1 fell $1.80, or 2.3 percent, to $75.81 a barrel by 8:49 a.m. EDT (1249 GMT), trading from $74.95 to $77.29.
* The $74.95 intraday low was the lowest intraday front-month crude price since prices fell to $74.66 on Sept. 24, 2010.