* Saudi Arabia makes "substantial" supply cuts
* Signs of slowing demand as refiners cut runs
* Global markets await U.S. election result
(Updates prices, paragraphs 3-4)
By Joe Brock
LONDON, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Oil rose above $66 on Tuesday,
after industry sources said Saudi Arabia had already made
substantial cuts in crude supplies and helped the market recoup
earlier losses.
Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, has reduced
exports by around 900,000 barrels per day from a peak in August,
one source estimated. []
U.S. light crude for December delivery <CLc1> was up $2.21
at $66.12 a barrel by 1412 GMT. It had touched a session low
earlier of $62.25. Oil suffered its biggest monthly drop ever in
October.
London Brent crude <LCOc1> was up $1.99 at $62.47 a barrel.
Earlier Brent had touched a 20-month low of $58.38.
"Saudi Arabia cutting supplies could be supportive," said
Christopher Bellew at Bache Commodities, "But it could also be
bearish, pointing to reduced demand from customers."
Earlier, the market had fallen more than a dollar, pressured
partly by expectations oil refiners would have to cut output
because of weak demand for fuel. []
All markets were awaiting the outcome of the U.S.
presidential election. []
A weak U.S. dollar and gains in European shares lent support
to oil, which is sensitive to moves in stock markets and the
U.S. currency.
Saudi Arabia's supply cut helps to remove doubts about
whether the world's top exporter would comply quickly with a 1.5
million barrel per day output cut agreed by the Organization of
the Petroleum Exporting Countries in Vienna last month.
Other OPEC members have also cut back.
The United Arab Emirates has reduced its production to
around 2.3 million barrels per day (bpd) from around 2.5 million
bpd, a top state oil company official said on Tuesday.
[]
Algeria is reducing its oil output by 71,000 bpd in line
with OPEC's supply cut decision, the Algerian official news
agency APS said on Tuesday, quoting the country's Energy and
Mining Ministry [].
Qatar has cut exports to Asia by about 40,000 barrels per
day (bpd) from this month, Energy Minister Abdullah al-Attiyah
told Reuters.
Crude oil has plummeted from a record above $147 a barrel in
July as the credit crisis in the global banking sector has
started to hit the wider economy. This has already dampened fuel
consumption in the United States, the world's top oil consumer,
and other major consumer nations.
U.S. auto sales plunged 32 percent in October to lows unseen
in a quarter century, while U.S. factory activity -- a barometer
for future oil demand -- fell to its lowest in 26 years.
(Additional reporting by Jane Merriman)
