* Asian stocks follow Wall St lower; Nikkei down 2.6 pct
* Dollar holds near week's high vs euro
* Markets eye U.S. jobless claims due at 1230 GMT
* Nigerian militants extend evacuation deadline
(Refiles to insert dropped word "fell" in line 1)
SINGAPORE, May 14 (Reuters) - Oil prices fell towards $57 a
barrel on Thursday, after a 1-percent plus decline the previous
day, as equity markets slipped, weighing on optimism for
economic recovery and energy demand.
Oil slid on Wednesday after disappointing U.S. retail sales
data prompted a more than 2 percent drop on Wall Street.
Analysts said oil and equity markets would look towards the
U.S. government's weekly readings on jobless claims later in
the day for further clues on the economy.
U.S. crude <CLc1> fell 54 cents to $57.48 a barrel at 0619
GMT, and London Brent <LCOc1> fell 33 cents to $57.01.
"There's a bit of economic data coming out of the U.S. that
could add some surprise upside. We have jobless claims coming
in, so in the next 24 hours that's one thing to look at," Ben
Westmore, commodity analyst at National Australia Bank, said.
The U.S. government will release data on weekly jobless
claims and April producer prices at 1230 GMT, followed by the
consumer price index on Friday.
Oil prices have been tracking equities markets closely in
recent months as traders look to stocks for signs of an
economic recovery that could lift ailing world fuel demand. A
rally in stocks markets this year has helped lift crude prices
almost 80 percent from a January low of $32.70.
Tokyo's Nikkei average <> hit a two-week closing low
on Thursday with a 2.64 percent loss. []
The dollar held near a one-week high versus the euro on
Thursday, adding pressure on oil prices. A firmer dollar makes
oil more expensive to holders of other currencies. []
Reflecting still-tenuous economic recovery, U.S. April
retail sales data registered a second straight month of
declines after back-to-back gains in January and February,
defying investors' hopes that more "green shoots" had taken
root. []
Hopes for a quick rebound in the global economy also
receded following a report of slumping European industrial
output and a Bank of England forecast saying Britain needed a
long period of healing.
"We're at a point in the economic cycle where the oil
market is taking its cue from equity markets. It's not quite
focused on fundamentals of the market," Westmore said.
Crude fell even as Nigeria's main militant group threatened
to attack oil companies in the Niger Delta following heavy
clashes with security forces. It extended the deadline for the
companies to evacuate staff by another 48 hours. []
Oil's retreat from a six-month high on Tuesday also came
despite the U.S. Energy Information Administration's report
showing U.S. crude stocks fell 4.7 million barrels, confounding
expectations for a 10th straight weekly build. []
Ailing demand for fuel has taken oil prices more than 60
percent off the record above $147 a barrel hit in July.
OPEC said on Wednesday that world oil demand is still
shrinking as the global economy contracts, and oil's rise
reflected sentiment rather than fundamentals, which were far
from balanced. []
The International Energy Agency, an energy adviser to 28
developed countries, said last month it expected total demand
to fall by 2.4 million barrels per day (bpd) this year, a big
cut from the 1.25 million bpd forecast in its previous monthly
report. The next report is due out later in the day.
(Reporting by Chua Baizhen, Editing by Ben Tan)
