* 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)
LONDON/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 economic pessimism outweighed comments by OPEC 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 61
cents at $55.5 a barrel by 0855 GMT, after having fallen earlier
to $54.67 -- the lowest since Jan. 30, 2007.
London Brent crude <LCOc1> fell $0.90 to $51.47, off an
earlier low of $50.60.
"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.
China also posted its first annual decline in power output
during a non-holiday month for a decade, with a 4 percent fall
in October. []
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. []
(Reporting by Christopher Johnson in London and Fayen Wong
in Perth; editing by Editing by Peter Blackburn)
