* U.S. oil prices below $38
* Bleak U.S. consumer and job data weighs
* U.S. crude supplies fall unexpectedly, products build
* OPEC may call emergency meeting if prices keep falling
(Recasts, updates throughout, changes dateline from LONDON
previous)
By Rebekah Kebede
NEW YORK, Dec 24 (Reuters) - Oil fell below $38 on
Wednesday as another round of gloomy U.S. economic data offset
a report showing an unexpected decline in nationwide crude
stockpiles.
U.S. crude <CLc1> fell $1.39 to $37.59 a barrel by 12:43
p.m. EST (1744 GMT), down from a session high of $39.69. London
Brent crude <LCOc1> fell $1.66 to $38.70 a barrel.
The losses followed government data showing U.S. jobless
claims rose to a 26-year high and consumers cut spending in
November. This reinforced expectations of a continued slowdown
in energy consumption.
"Until the price is low enough to break through the cloud
of economic gloom and doom, oil is going to be under some
pressure," said Mike Fitzpatrick, vice president at MF Global
in New York.
Oil prices have dropped about $110 a barrel since July as a
global financial crisis has cut consumer and business demand
for fuels, raising alarm bells for OPEC producers that have
slashed 5 percent of global oil production to stem the slide.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said on
Wednesday that U.S. crude inventories dropped 3.1 million
barrels last week as imports slowed, countering expectations of
a 400,000 barrel rise.
Gasoline stockpiles, meanwhile, rose by 3.3 million
barrels, exceeding the build of 500,000 barrels predicted by
analysts. Distillates, including heating oil, rose by 1.8
million barrels versus expectations for a 200,000 barrel
increase.
"Although this market could scoop up some modest support
off of the 3.1 million barrel draw in total crude stocks, the
data looks bearish from our perspective given the
larger-than-expected increases in (refined fuel) supplies,"
said Jim Ritterbusch, president of Ritterbusch and Associates
in Galena, Illinois.
Record inventories of crude at the NYMEX delivery point in
Cushing, Oklahoma, also may have encouraged selling, analysts
said.
Demand, which has deteriorated during a worldwide economic
downturn, sank again. Distillate consumption slipped 5.1
percent over the past four weeks compared with the same period
a year ago and gasoline demand fell by 2.7 percent.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
(OPEC) already has announced cuts of around 5 percent in global
oil supplies and may call an emergency meeting before March if
prices extend their slide, OPEC's President Chakib Khelil said
on Tuesday. []
(Additional reporting by Joe Brock & Fayen Wong in Perth;
Editing by David Gregorio)
