* EIA data shows surprise build in crude, gasoline stocks
* Wall Street mixed on energy sector, regulation worries
* Russian oil output hits post-Soviet record high in Nov
(Recasts, updates prices and market activity, changes dateline
from LONDON previous)
By Rebekah Kebede
NEW YORK, Dec 2 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures fell 2
percent to under $77 a barrel on Wednesday, extending losses
after U.S. government inventory data showed
larger-than-expected builds in crude and gasoline stocks.
Crude oil inventories rose 2.1 million barrels last week,
raising doubts about economic recovery in the world's top oil
consuming nation, a weekly report from the U.S. Energy
Information Administration showed. []
The data also showed that gasoline stocks rose more than
expected but distillate supplies fell more than forecast.
"Sluggish demand for gasoline and refined products coupled
with anemic demand for crude from refineries, which pushed the
utilization rate below 80 percent, is an indicator of slack in
the system," Chris Jarvis, senior analyst, Caprock Risk
Management, Hampton Falls, New Hampshire.
NYMEX crude for January delivery <CLc1> fell $1.54 to
$76.83 a barrel by 1:24 p.m. EST (1824 GMT). Brent crude
<LCOc1> fell $1.29 to $78.06.
The U.S. dollar rose against the euro and the yen on
Wednesday, further pressuring oil prices. []
A stronger dollar typically discourages investor interest
in dollar-denominated commodities such as oil.
Wall Street also weighed on oil prices. U.S. stock indices
were mixed, with the Dow Jones industrials and S&P 500 slipping
due to concerns about financial regulations as well as the
energy sector.[]
Oil has rallied from below $33 last December but has held
in a narrow band of $70 to $82 over the past two months. Some
analysts see little chance prices will push above the range,
given ample supplies and little sign of strengthening demand.
Globally, signs of oil demand were mixed. In India, annual
oil product sales rose 17.3 percent in October, fueled by
economic activity and higher farm sector demand, according to
government data.[]
China and India will be responsible for most of the world's
oil demand growth in the next two decades, according to an
International Energy Agency forecast last month.
However, in Russia, there were further signs of rising
global oil supplies as the nation's Energy Ministry data showed
output hit a post-Soviet record for the fourth straight month,
retaining its position as the world's top producer ahead of
Saudi Arabia. []
(Additional reporting by Robert Gibbons and Gene Ramos in
New York, Joe Brock in London; Editing by David Gregorio)
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