* Oil falls more than $1, extends losses of previous session
* Market spooked by concerns of further demand erosion
* World stocks fall, await U.S. jobs data
(Updates prices, adds comment, Nigeria detail)
By Santosh Menon
LONDON, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Oil eased to near $123 a barrel on
Friday, extending losses from a day earlier, as sluggish U.S.
economic data pointed to further erosion of oil demand in the
world's top energy consumer.
U.S. light crude for September delivery <CLc1> fell 92 cents
to $123.16 a barrel by 1117 GMT, off lows of $122.10 and on top
of a $2.69 fall in the previous session. London Brent crude
<LCOc1> fell 91 cents to $123.07 a barrel.
Analysts said U.S. data released on Thursday, showing
weaker-than-expected economic growth and a sizable increase in
jobless claims amid high energy prices, had put the outlook for
oil demand into sharper focus.
"There is no doubt in my mind that the global economy will
deteriorate further into recession and oil demand will suffer
accordingly," said Robert Laughlin of broker MF Global.
World stock markets fell on Friday, with attention focused
on U.S. jobs data due later in the day. []
Gerard Rigby of Fuel First Consulting in Sydney added: "High
oil prices are taking their toll on western economies. Prices
are now on a downward trend due to weaker U.S. economic data."
U.S. gasoline demand has been trailing last year's levels by
about 1.5 percent as pump prices hit record highs and the
economy soured, according to most recent government data, with
demand growth also hit in Europe.
Oil has fallen from a record above $147 a barrel hit on July
11, the peak of a six-year rally set in motion by an Asian
economic boom. Oil's 11.4 percent loss for the month of July
marked the biggest monthly decline in percentage terms since
December 2004.
Moody's Economy.com economist Matt Robinson said he expected
crude oil prices to continue drifting lower, averaging around
$110 a barrel in the fourth quarter.
The Reuters-Jefferies CRB Index <.CRB>, an index of 19
commodity futures with a bias towards energy products such as
crude oil and natural gas, saw its biggest decline in 28 years
in July. The index lost 10 percent during the month, the
steepest drop since it fell 10.5 percent in March 1980.
But market concerns about OPEC member and the world's fourth
biggest oil exporter Iran, which remains locked in a tense
standoff with the West over its nuclear programme, and supply
disruptions in Nigeria have offered some support to oil prices.
Iran has a weekend deadline to respond to an offer made by
major powers to hold off imposing more sanctions in exchange for
freezing any expansion of its nuclear work. []
Nigeria's crude oil production fell by 150,000 barrels per
day after Monday's militant attack on a major pipeline in the
Niger Delta, an official with state-run oil company NNPC said on
Friday.
This week's rebel attacks in Nigeria added to a string of
bombings that has disrupted the OPEC nation's production.
(Additional reporting by Felicia Loo in Singapore, Editing by
Anthony Barker)
