* Oil rallies after near-$100 drop since July
* OPEC's Khelil says "possible" no output decision in Cairo
* U.S. shares open higher
(Recasts, adds comment, updates prices)
By Joe Brock
LONDON, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Oil rallied from
three-and-half-year lows on Friday, spurred partly by gains in
global stock markets reflecting hopes that central banks around
the world might cut interest rates, including China.
Oil has fallen by about $10 this week and by almost $100
from a record high of more than $147 in July, depressed by the
global economic downturn and its impact on fuel demand in top
energy consumer the United States and other major economies.
U.S. light crude for January delivery <CLc1> rose 23 cents
to $49.65 a barrel at 1505 GMT.
Earlier it fell to $48.25, its lowest in three and a half
years.
London Brent crude <LCOc1> gained 69 cents to $48.77 a
barrel.
"The move through $50 on January U.S. crude yesterday may
have been the final push to the downside," said Christopher
Bellew at Bache Commodities.
"If equities can improve a bit we could see that all the
considerable amount of bearish news is finally priced in."
Members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting
Countries will meet in Cairo next week, but may not take any
decision to reduce output to defend prices.
"In Cairo we will not have the complete data about the
market," said OPEC President Chakib Khelil. "It's very possible
that we will not take a decision until we will see the impact --
this impact will not likely be seen until December."
OPEC will meet on Dec. 17 in Oran, Algeria.
Industry consultant Petrologistics estimated OPEC oil
production will fall by 1.22 million barrels per day in
November. []
OPEC agreed in October to cut output by 1.5 million barrels
per day, about 5 percent, from Nov. 1, but the move has so far
failed to stem the decline in oil prices.
As demand shrinks, oil companies plan to store millions of
barrels of crude in the hope economics will improve.
Shipping brokers said U.S. oil trader Koch and Royal Dutch
Shell <RDSa.L> had booked supertankers capable of storing 10
million barrels of crude, more than top exporter Saudi Arabia
produces in a day. []
But some market participants see oil's bearish fundamentals
as being overstated.
"The price trend seems to be focused solely on weak demand
by end-consumers, while little attention is being paid to the
significant loss of production volume looming in 2009," asset
manager Tiberius said in a research note.
"Market surpluses are likely to prove smaller than the
market is currently discounting into the crude oil futures
curves," it said.
(Additional reporting by Jane Merriman in London and Annika
Breidthardt in Singapore, editing by Anthony Barker)
