Oil drops as weak European data adds to demand concerns

Crude oil prices fell on Tuesday as signs of weak demand for petroleum and ample supply continued to push prices toward multi-month lows.

German industrial output fell in August at its steepest rate since January 2009, economy ministry data showed on Tuesday, pressuring European equities and pointing to weak demand for oil.

"There is stagnation in Europe and China is slowing down. It's going to be very difficult for the oil price to rally on that basis," said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets in London.

A lower forecast for global oil demand for 2014 and 2015 from the US Energy Information administration (EIA) on Tuesday added to the bearish outlook.

Brent November crude was down $1.03 at $91.76 a barrel at 11:06 EDT (1506 GMT). Brent fell to a contract low of $91.25 on Monday before recovering in late trading.

US November crude was down 96 cents at $89.38.

Iran Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has no plans to hold an emergency meeting to discuss the recent slide in oil prices.

Oil ministers from the OPEC are scheduled to meet in Vienna on November 27 to consider adjusting their output target of 30 million barrels per day (bpd).

"Until OPEC makes some moves to reduce supply, oil prices are likely to remain under pressure," said Carsten Fritsch, senior oil and commodities analyst at Commerzbank in Frankfurt.

The number of net Brent crude long futures and options positions on the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) fell by nearly a sixth in the week to September 30, ICE data showed on Tuesday, another sign of waning investor expectations for higher prices.

Oil investors awaited fresh snapshots of US oil inventories in weekly reports from industry and government.

US crude stocks were expected to have risen 1.4 million barrels last week, according to a Reuters poll on Monday ahead of the industry group American Petroleum Institute's (API) report due on Tuesday at 4:30 pm EDT.

The EIA's weekly oil inventory report is due on Wednesday at 10:30 am EDT.