Brent crude falls on U.S. economy fears

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NEARBY MONTH LAST CHANGE PCT SUPPORT RESIST RSI-14 RIC
ICE BRENT 90.53 -2.39 -2.57 90.00 - 93.00 37 LCOc1
NYMEX CRUDE 91.24 -2.96 -3.14 91.20 - 94.50 35 CLc1
ICE GAS OIL 792.50 -16.00 -1.98 780.00 - 810.00 34 LGOc1
NYMEX HEAT 2.5291 -0.0601 -2.32 2.5000 - 2.6000 38 HOc1
NYMEX RBOB 2.2905 -0.0823 -3.47 2.2500 - 2.4000 34 RBc1
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LONDON, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Brent crude futures tumbled more
than $2 a barrel on Tuesday, pressured by growing concerns the
United States was headed for a recession, as more evidence of a
slowdown emerged in the world's top oil consumer.

- Sales at U.S. retailers fell0.4 percent in December,
according to a government report that implied costlier energy
and slumping housing prices were taking a toll on consumers.
[ID: nN15483657]

- "All signs point to a recession, which could be a
precursor to demand destruction," said Nauman Barakat of
Macquarie Futures in a research note.

- Former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said
the U.S. economy was probably in a recession or about to slide
into one. [ID: nN15427882]

- U.S. President George W. Bush urged Saudi Arabia on
Tuesday to help tame soaring oil prices which threaten the U.S.
economy, saying exporters should help get more crude into the
market. [ID: nL15209595]

- Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said on Tuesday that Saudi
Arabia was ready to boost output when the market needed more
oil.

Naimi said he was concerned about low oil inventories, but
declined to say if the OPEC should raise output at its Feb. 1 in
Vienna. [ID: nL15195750]

- The spectre of world recession still hangs over the oil
market, OPEC President Chakib Khelil was reported as saying.

- U.S. crude oil inventories rose last week as imports
recovered from a sharp drop, a preliminary Reuters poll of seven
industry analysts showed on Monday.On average, the analysts
forecast a 1.2 million barrel increase. [EIA/S]

Distillate supplies, which include heating oil, were
forecast to have increased by an average of 1.2 million barrels,
the poll showed. Gasoline inventories were forecast to have
risen by an average of 2.5 million barrels.

- The latest supply disruption in Nigeria limited the
decline for crude.

Shell declared a force majeure on crude shipments from its
Forcados export terminal in Nigeria after last week's pipeline
attack, a spokesman said.

Exports have been halted since Friday due to sabotage at two
of its pipelines connected to the Forcados export terminal.
Production has not been affected, the spokesman said.
(Reporting by Alex Lawler and Santosh Menon; editing by James
Jukwey)