* Markets sceptical over G20 rescue plan
* Uncertainty over timing of any OPEC output cut
* Saudi supertanker hijacked
(Updates prices, adds pirates paragraph 5)
By Christopher Johnson
LONDON, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Oil fell towards $56 a barrel on
Monday, not far above its lowest in almost two years, after a
meeting of the Group of 20 major economies ended with few
concrete proposals on dealing with global recession.
News that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting
Countries (OPEC) may wait until its meeting on Dec. 17, instead
of the end of November, to make a decision on whether to cut
production targets again also weighed on prices [].
U.S. light crude for December <CLc1> fell 3 percent, or
$1.75, to a low of $55.29 a barrel before recovering to $56.73
by 1213 GMT. Last Thursday, U.S. crude reached a low of $54.67 a
barrel, its weakest since January 2007.
London Brent crude <LCOc1> fell $0.10 to $54.14.
Reports that a large Saudi Arabian crude oil tanker had been
hijacked by pirates off east Africa helped trim early losses,
but the market tone remained bearish. Analysts said the lack of
any solid action plan from the G20 provided a weak undertone.
"The economic outlook is worrying and no solution has been
found short term," said Simon Wardell, analyst at economic
consultancy Global Insight. "People are expecting things to get
worse as the economic data continues to look poor and, in the
absence of anything else, that is helping to push prices lower."
Governments from Washington to Beijing agreed on Saturday to
a raft of fiscal and monetary steps to rescue the global economy
but it was left to individual governments to tailor responses to
their circumstances and troubled industries. []
Although the package of economic rescue measures agreed by
the G20 countries sought to settle volatile markets and calm
consumer anxieties about leaders' ability to work together, the
proposals did little to alleviate investors' fears.
For more on the G20 summit in Washington, click on []
OPEC UNCERTAINTY
The worst financial crisis since the 1930s has pushed a
growing number of countries into recession, heightening fears of
a sharp slowdown in near-term world energy demand and
accelerating oil's tumble from its July peak of over $147.
Japan provided more gloomy economic news on Monday with data
showing the world's second-biggest economy was in recession.
The Japanese economy shrank 0.1 percent in the third
quarter, marking its first recession in seven years.
[]
Oil fell over 2 percent on Friday after news of a euro zone
recession and data showing a record decline in U.S. retail sales
stirred concerns of a further drop in fuel demand.
OPEC may have to wait until December to take action to reach
a preferred oil price range of between $70-$90 a barrel because
the effect of its latest cut is not yet clear, the group's
president said on Sunday. []
Chakib Khelil said he saw a meeting of OPEC ministers in
Cairo on Nov. 29 as more of a brainstorming session that might
formulate recommendations for action at OPEC's gathering in
Algeria on Dec. 17.
Several OPEC members want another production cut in the face
of falling revenues. Iran wants OPEC to cut output by a further
1-1.5 million barrels per day (bpd) when it meets in Cairo.
"We suspect that should the cartel put through another
1.0-1.5 million bpd cut ... a good part of the current
supply/demand imbalance will be redressed," brokers MF Global
said in a note. "However it remains to be seen how quickly this
excess crude will be taken off the market."
(Reporting by Christopher Johnson in London and Fayen Wong
in Perth; editing by William Hardy)
