* Oil falls, hovers around $55 on economic woes
* Weekly U.S. data seen to show crude, gasoline stocks rise
* OPEC officials call for further cuts (Updates prices,
adds China industry output data)
By Fayen Wong
PERTH, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Oil fell for a third straight day
on Thursday to hit a 22-month low of $55 a barrel as mounting
pessimism about the global economy outweighed OPEC's comments
that it could cut output again as early as end-November.
OPEC officials, concerned about oil's steep drop from
record highs over $147 a barrel per day (bpd) in July, said the
cartel could possibly decide by the end of the month to cut
production again to raise prices. []
But comments from the producer group failed to lift oil
prices, as investors focused on near-term demand worries after
the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) slashed
America's 2008 oil demand outlook and the International Energy
Agency (IEA) flagged further reduction in its oil forecast.
U.S. light crude for December delivery <CLc1> was down 81
cents at $55.35 a barrel by 0259 GMT, after having fallen
earlier to $55.03 -- the lowest since Jan. 29, 2007.
London Brent crude <LCOc1> fell 41 cents to $51.96 in early
Asian trade.
"Oil prices continue to be pressured by fears that weaker
international economic growth will depress oil consumption,"
said David Moore, an analyst at the Commonwealth Bank of
Australia.
Oil fell 5 percent overnight, along with a big drop in U.S.
stock markets, after the U.S. government shifted its position
on how it planned to use its $700 billion bailout fund, which
added uncertainty to financial markets and renewed fears of a
protracted global recession.
Expectations that U.S. government data to be released on
Thursday would show a further build-up of crude and gasoline
stocks also weighed on prices, analysts said.
Analysts polled by Reuters ahead of U.S. weekly inventory
data forecast crude oil stocks rose 1.2 million barrels last
week, while distillate and gasoline inventories were seen
rising by 800,000 barrels and 300,000 barrels respectively.
[]
Oil has lost about $91, or 62 percent, from its record high
of above $147 struck in mid-July, on growing evidence that
recent high energy prices and the financial crisis have dented
energy demand in the United States and other industrialised
nations.
Demand in the United States, the world's biggest consumer
of oil, was expected to fall by more than 1 million barrels per
day (bpd) for the first time since 1980 this year, the EIA
said.
The EIA also forecast world oil demand to rise by only just
100,000 bpd in 2008 and will be virtually flat in 2009, as it
cut its 2009 oil price forecast to average around $63.50 a
barrel.
Analysts said a move by IEA to further cut its oil demand
growth forecast later on Thursday could heighten fears among
investors.
In the latest sign that China's economy is also being hit
by the global downturn, data on Thursday showed Chinese annual
industrial output slumped to 8.2 percent in October, the
weakest reading since late 2001, as manufacturers struggled
with a drop in export demand and weakness in the domestic
property market.
OPEC President Chakib Khelil told Reuters on Wednesday that
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries may cut oil
supplies again, possibly as early as at Nov. 29 meeting in
Cairo, if prices keep falling and the world economy weakens.
"If the prices continue their decline, most probably OPEC
will have to take a further decision on a cut in supply,"
Khelil told Reuters in an interview in Algiers. []
(Editing by Kim Coghill)
