* Oil falls $1 after bounce on late surge on Wall Street
* Iran calls continued price drop "worrying"
* IEA head says low price could hamper investment
(Updates prices, changes dateline)
By Chris Baldwin
LONDON, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Oil fell $1, nearing $57 on
Friday taking back some of the four percent gains of the
previous session when an equity market bounce helped pulled
prices higher.
U.S. crude futures for December <CLc1> shed $1.03 to $57.21
a barrel at 0956 GMT after closing $2.08 higher on Thursday.
London Brent crude for January <LCOc1>, the new front-month,
lost $1.30 to $54.94.
Expectations that OPEC would cut output again late this
month also lent support, but analysts said it was premature to
conclude the market had hit a bottom, pointing to high U.S. oil
stockpiles and slowing world oil demand growth.
"The latest oil movements data suggests OPEC are still
reigning in production," senior oil analyst at brokers MF Global
Robert Laughlin said in a note.
"For the four weeks ending 29th Nov cartel member exports
should fall by 60,000 bpd according to tanker traffic. It's
highly likely this trend will continue until a serious bout of
cold weather hits the West and maybe spurs some demand."
The price of oil has dropped almost two-thirds in value
since its July peak of $147.27, and on Thursday touched $54.67,
its lowest since Jan. 30, 2007.
IRANIAN WORRIES
Iran's OPEC governor on Friday said the Islamic Republic
would back any decision by the group for a further production
cut when it meets later this month in Cairo.
"The current oil market condition is worrying," Mohammad Ali
Khatibi was quoted as saying in the semi-official Mehr News
Agency.
He was speaking a day after an Iranian oil official told
Reuters members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting
Countries would meet in the Egyptian capital on Nov. 29 for
"consultation" on the oil market.
OPEC cut output by 1.5 million barrels per day when it met
last month.
"If until the date of the meeting the oil price continues to
fall, a production cut will definitely be put on the agenda,"
Ali Khatibi said. []
Oil project investment worldwide could also be hampered by
continuing low prices, the head of the International Energy
Agency said on Friday, creating serious concerns about supply
growth when the global economy reverses its current slowdown.
"There are concerns that as (oil) prices fall, national oil
companies and oil majors may backtrack high-cost and difficult
projects," Nobuo Tanaka told an energy industry symposium in
Tokyo.
"The global economy may ultimately recover in a few years
and push up oil demand. If supplies do not catch up with that,
there may be serious consequences," Tanaka said. []
(Reporting by Chris Baldwin; Editing by William Hardy)
