RPT-GLOBAL MARKETS-Oil drops; earthquake hits Chinese shares

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By Rafael Nam

HONG KONG, May 13 (Reuters) - Oil prices retreated from recent records on Tuesday on monthly data showing a fall in China's imports of the commodity, but Asian shares gained as banks were bolstered by further signals the worst of the credit crisis may now be over.

Overall trading was subdued, with the dollar edging higher ahead of April U.S. retail sales data due out later in the day, as well as a speech from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.

The earthquake on Monday that killed nearly 10,000 people in southwest China hit shares in Shanghai .SSEC and weakened the yuan currency. Still, it failed to have an impact elsewhere in the region on as the economic fallout was seen limited.

Inflationary pressures from rising food and energy costs, and further fallout from the global credit crisis, have been among the most pressing concerns to investors in Asia this year, and despite a more positive tone, little of that changed on Tuesday.

Analysts attributed the fall in crude futures to profit-taking after data on Monday showed a fall in China's oil imports in April. The reduced demand was also seen as a one-off adjustment after refiners had unusually high inventory.

"When news like the Chinese imports comes out, it makes sense to take a profit. But is demand really killed or only rationed? It will take a lot of damage to revise the overall trend," said Tony Nunan, risk management executive at Mitsubishi Corp in Tokyo.

Crude prices have gained around 15 percent this month alone on the back of news about supply disruptions, having hit a string of records that peaked at $126.40 a barrel on Monday.  Continued...