* G20 rescue plan offers little support to sceptical markets
* Uncertainty over timing of any OPEC output cut
* Japan in first recession in seven years
(Updates prices, adding comment)
By Christopher Johnson
LONDON, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Oil fell more than $1 to below
$56 a barrel on Monday, close to its lowest in almost two years,
after a meeting of the Group of 20 major economies ended with
few concrete proposals on dealing with global recession.
News that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting
Countries (OPEC) may wait until its meeting on Dec. 17, instead
of the end of November, to make a decision on whether to cut
production targets again also weighed on prices.
U.S. light crude for December <CLc1> fell $1.55, or 2.7
percent, to a low of $55.49 a barrel before recovering a little
to around $55.79 by 1110 GMT. Last Thursday, U.S. crude reached
a low of $54.67 a barrel, its weakest since January 2007.
London Brent crude <LCOc1> fell $0.98 to $53.26.
Simon Wardell, analyst at economic consultancy Global
Insight, said the lack of any solid action plan from the G20 had
provided a weak undertone to the oil market:
"The economic outlook is worrying and no solution has been
found short term. People are expecting things to get worse as
the economic data continues to look poor and, in the absence of
anything else, that is helping to push prices lower."
Governments from Washington to Beijing agreed on Saturday to
a raft of fiscal and monetary steps to rescue the global economy
but it was left to individual governments to tailor responses to
their circumstances and troubled industries. []
Although the package of economic rescue measures agreed by
the G20 countries sought to settle volatile markets and calm
consumer anxieties about leaders' ability to work together, the
proposals did little to alleviate investors' fears.
For more on the G20 summit in Washington, click on []
OPEC UNCERTAINTY
The worst financial crisis since the 1930s has pushed a
growing number of countries into recession, heightening fears of
a sharp slowdown in near-term world energy demand and
accelerating oil's tumble from its July peak of over $147.
Japan provided more gloomy economic news on Monday with data
showing the world's second-biggest economy was in recession.
The Japanese economy shrank 0.1 percent in the third
quarter, marking its first recession in seven years.
[]
Oil fell over 2 percent on Friday after news of a euro zone
recession and data showing a record decline in U.S. retail sales
stirred concerns of a further drop in fuel demand.
OPEC may have to wait until December to take action to reach
a preferred oil price range of between $70-$90 a barrel because
the effect of its latest cut is not yet clear, the group's
president said on Sunday. []
Chakib Khelil said he saw a meeting of OPEC ministers in
Cairo on Nov. 29 as more of a brainstorming session that might
formulate recommendations for action at OPEC's gathering in
Algeria on Dec. 17.
Several OPEC members want another production cut in the face
of falling revenues. Iran wants OPEC to cut output by a further
1-1.5 million barrels per day (bpd) when it meets in Cairo.
"Market focus in energy will again be on what OPEC will be
up to," brokers MF Global said in a note to clients. "We suspect
that should the cartel put through another 1.0-1.5 million bpd
cut ... a good part of the current supply/demand imbalance will
be redressed. However it remains to be seen how quickly this
excess crude will be taken off the market."
(Reporting by Christopher Johnson in London and Fayen Wong in
Perth; editing by Anthony Barker)
