* Bank of America gets big government bailout
* IEA report on oil supply/demand due at 0900 GMT
* U.S. inflation data and U.S. bank results also due
(Corrects paragraph 7 to remove incorrect reference to scale of
OPEC revision)
LONDON, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Oil steadied above $35 a barrel
on Friday after a 5 percent fall overnight, with concerns about
the health of the global economy and fuel demand keeping
pressure on the market.
There was some relief that Bank of America Corp <BAC.N> will
receive $20 billion fresh cash from the U.S. government and a
guarantee for $118 billion of potential losses on toxic assets
[], but worries over credit losses at big banks
continue.
U.S. light crude for February delivery <CLc1> was up 20
cents at $35.60 a barrel by 0830 GMT, after a $1.88 fall the
previous session. The contract, which expires on Tuesday,
touched a low of $33.20 on Thursday, the weakest in nearly a
month.
London Brent crude for the new front-month March contract
<LCOc1> was up 32 cents at $48.00, maintaining an unusual
premium to the U.S. benchmark due to the recent disruption of
Russian gas supplies to Europe and growing U.S. stockpiles.
The price of oil for delivery in the next few weeks has
fallen about 13 percent so far this week, as a string of dismal
figures from major economies stung investor confidence and
signalled further weakness in oil demand in months ahead.
"The facts remain that global oil demand is still reducing
at an alarming rate and, whilst OPEC is making an effort to
adhere to quotas, the clear picture shows that another cut is
required and soon," said Rob Laughlin, senior oil analyst at MF
Global in London.
The gloomy global economic outlook has prompted OPEC to
forecast a fall of 180,000 barrels per day (bpd) in world oil
demand this year. []
The producer group, which has already cut 4.2 million bpd in
supply from the world market since September, could quickly
deepen output cuts if needed, OPEC President Botelho de
Vasconcelos said on Thursday. []
Investors will be keenly watching U.S. CPI data, due later
on Friday, which is expected to show a drop of 0.9 percent in
December, while a preliminary index of January consumer
sentiment in January is expected to erode to 59.0 from 60.1 in
December.
They are also nervously awaiting earnings results from Bank
of America and Citigroup <C.N> later on Friday, with both
expected to post more losses.
The financial crisis, which first surfaced in the United
States over housing loan defaults, is forcing a growing number
of major economies into recession. Energy consumption has waned
sharply, prompting oil prices to tumble by more than $110 since
a record peak in July.
Analysts said the glut in global crude supplies would
continue to cap oil prices for the rest of this year.
"With between one-half and one day of global demand on the
water in floating storage, OPEC would have to tighten the market
by one-half to 1 million bpd below current demand levels for an
entire quarter to get rid of the surplus," JP Morgan said in a
research note led by Lawrence Eagles.
(Reporting by Christopher Johnson in London and Fayen Wong in
Perth; editing by Peter Blackburn)
