Oil Falls Below $37

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><root available-locales="en_US," default-locale="en_US"><static-content language-id="en_US"><![CDATA[Oil fell more than $2 to below $37 a barrel on Wednesday, tracking global equity losses and ahead of US data expected to show an increase in crude stocks. US crude fell $2.14 to $36.84 a barrel by 1236 GMT, down from a session high of $39.69. London Brent crude fell $2.73 to $37.63 a barrel. Stock markets again set a bearish trend after the Dow Jones industrial average closed down 1.2 per cent on Tuesday, while Japanese and European equities followed suit. &quot;Oil prices continue to fall on the coat tails of equity markets and the trend suggests this will continue into the New Year,&quot; said Rob Laughlin, senior oil analyst at MF Global. Oil prices have fallen about 60 per cent since the start of this year and more than 70 per cent since their record peak above $147 in July as demand from the United States, China, Japan and other industrialised nations has fallen. Review The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has already announced cuts of around 5 per cent in global oil supplies and may call an emergency meeting before March if prices extend their near $110-per-barrel slide since summer, OPEC's President Chakib Khelil said on Tuesday. Oil was buoyed on Wednesday by a dip in the dollar, which edged down against the yen, pressured by light selling from Japanese exporters after dismal US growth and housing data suggested a prolonged recession ahead. The euro also rose versus the dollar on cooling expectations for a euro zone interest rate cut in January. But forecasts that US government data would show a build in crude stocks for the third-straight week by 400,000 barrels weighed on prices. Data for release later on Wednesday was also expected to show distillate stocks rose 200,000 barrels last week, while gasoline was seen up 500,000 barrels, a Reuters poll showed. (Reuters)