* Oil falls further after lowest settlement since Feb.9,
2005
* U.S. stocks data shows unexpected crude and products
draws
* Other U.S. indicators indicate deepening economic woes
(Clarifies price milestone in headline and text)
By Maryelle Demongeot
SINGAPORE, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Oil fell below $46 a barrel to
its lowest in nearly four years on Thursday, extending four
consecutive days of falls as continued demand worries minimised
bullish draws in U.S. oil stocks.
Oil prices have lost more than $100 a barrel since an
all-time high of $147.27 hit in July, and some 16 percent from
last week, as demand is seen weakening worldwide and analysts
expect it to contract this year and next. []
U.S. light crude for January delivery <CLc1> fell $1.16 to
$45.63 a barrel by 0655 GMT, off an earlier low of $45.30, the
lowest since a $44.60 low hit on Feb. 9, 2005.
Oil settled down 17 cents at $46.79 on Wednesday.
London Brent crude <LCOc1> slid $1.34 to $44.10, up from an
earlier $43.80 low.
"Stabilisation in macroeconomic expectations is likely to
precede any switch in oil market sentiment away from a mainly
demand-side focus," Barclays Capital said in its weekly oil
data review.
Bullish oil data on Wednesday pushed prices higher during
the session, when the U.S. Energy Information Administration
said crude stocks fell 400,000 barrels in the week to Nov. 28,
against an expected 1.7 million barrels build. []
Distillate stocks, which include heating oil, fell 1.7
million barrels to 125 million, against a forecast for a
300,000-barrel increase, while gasoline supplies dropped 1.6
million barrels, having been expected to rise by 900,000
barrels.
But the product inventory falls came amid lower refinery
utilization, which fell 1.9 percentage points to 84.3 percent
of capacity last week against a predicted rise of 0.2
percentage point, showing weakening demand.
"Refiners began to cut processing rates significantly,"
said Jan Stuart, economist in New York for UBS, in a report.
Worries about a deepening economic downturn resurfaced as a
measure of the U.S. service sector, which represents about 80
percent of U.S. economic activity, slumped further than
expected to a record low in November, according to the
Institute of Supply Management. []
The Institute said its non-manufacturing index came in at
37.3 versus 44.4 in October, and against expectations for a
reading of 42.0.
Adding to the gloom, U.S. private employers cut 250,000
jobs in November, a 7-year high, and U.S. third-quarter labor
costs were revised lower as the recession hit jobs.
[]
Growing economic woes and falling prices have prompted oil
producer group OPEC to consider another round of cuts to oil
output when it next meets Dec. 17 in Algeria. []
(Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
