(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock markets, click LIVE/ or type LIVE/ in a news window) July 6 (Reuters) - European stocks were off to a muted start on Tuesday following three sessions of gains as gloomy trading in Asia and an unexpected drop in German industrial orders offset a jump in commodity stocks. The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.1% by 0717 GMT, with automakers sliding the most. Data showed orders for German-made goods posted their sharpest slump in May since the first lockdown in 2020, hurt by weaker demand from countries outside the euro zone. The oil and gas sector jumped 0.8% as crude prices hit their highest levels since 2018 after OPEC+ discussions were called off. UK-listed oil majors BP and Royal Dutch Shell gained almost 1% each. French train maker Alstom fell 7.6% to the bottom of STOXX 600 after it forecast negative free cash flow for its fiscal year. (Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta) Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.