* Oil slides 7 pct after 10 pct surge on Tuesday
* U.S. gasoline, distillate stocks rise as demand falls
* EIA expects 1.1 million barrel per day OPEC cut by Jan
(Updates prices, market data)
By Edward McAllister
NEW YORK, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Oil dropped 7 percent to below
$66 a barrel on Wednesday after a U.S. government report showed
rising fuel stockpiles and slowing demand in the world's top
energy consumer.
Gasoline stocks rose by 1.1 million barrels last week,
against analyst forecasts of a draw, as demand for the fuel
fell 2.3 percent over four-week period to Oct. 31, the Energy
Information Administration said. []
"The data looks bearish on most fronts with product
supplies building more than expected as refinery activity held
firm at the prior week's level," said energy analyst Jim
Ritterbusch.
U.S. crude <CLc1> fell $5.04 to $65.49 a barrel by 2:26
p.m. EST (1926 GMT), while Brent crude <LCOc1> lost $4.55 to
$61.89 a barrel.
Crude prices have tumbled by about half from a record high
of $147.27 a barrel in July as the global credit crisis hit the
wider economy, damping fuel demand in major consumer nations.
U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday and earlier pared losses
after data showed that the vast services sector shrank sharply,
on the day after the U.S. presidential election.
Barack Obama's first morning as president-elect was marked
by reports of deep cuts in employment by private employers,
possibly foreshadowing weakness in the government's employment
report on Friday. []
Oil had surged $6.62, or 10.36 percent, on Tuesday, the
largest one-day gain since Sept. 22, on signs Saudi Arabia and
other OPEC members had made cuts in oil exports, in compliance
with an agreement last month to cut exports and stem the slide
in oil prices.
The EIA said it expects OPEC production to be cut by 1.1 million
barrels a day by January, representing about 70 percent of the
planned 1.5 million barrel per day cut agreed last month.
[]
In its weekly review of the oil market, the EIA said this
would be higher than the usual 50 percent compliance with
previous cuts.
OPEC member Angola said on Wednesday it had implemented its
share of the supply curbs.
US DEMAND
U.S. total oil product demand in the past four weeks fell
to 19.10 million barrels per day, down 6.7 percent from a year
ago, the EIA reported.
U.S. crude inventories were unchanged, against analysts
expectations of a 1.1-million-barrel increase.
But crude stocks rose by a hefty 1.8 million barrels at Cushing,
Oklahoma, the delivery point for U.S. crude futures, while
distillate inventories rose by 1.2 million barrels.
Early pressure on crude came after Obama's victory in the
U.S. presidential election boosted the U.S. dollar. The dollar
later fell against the yen but retained gains against the euro.
[]
A firmer dollar makes oil more expensive for holders of
other currencies and tends to pressure the crude price lower.
(Additional reporting by Alex Lawler in London and Fayen Wong in
Perth; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
