LONDON (Reuters) - Oil fell more than $1 to below $67 a barrel on Monday as traders shifted their focus back to slowing global energy demand amid the financial crisis.
Analysts said traders would now be looking for signs that Saudi Arabia was cutting back its crude production in line with OPEC's agreement last month to reduce output by 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd).
U.S. crude was down 88 cents at $66.93 a barrel by 0937 GMT, after falling as low as $66.54. London Brent crude was down $1.20 at $64.12.
"Demand concerns haven't gone away so that's a factor that is weighing on the oil price this morning," said David Moore, a commodities strategist at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
U.S. oil settled up $1.85, or 2.8 percent, at $67.81 a barrel on Friday, but ended the month down more than 32 percent, the steepest monthly decline ever, as global demand slows.
In three months, oil has wiped out gains that took more than a year to build, down more than half since they struck a record $147.27 a barrel in July as poor economic data added pressure from weak demand reports in the United States and other key consumer nations.
OPEC members have no choice but to implement agreed output cuts and inform customers of the reductions if they want a stable oil price between $70-$90 a barrel, OPEC President Chakib Khelil said on Sunday.
Khelil said Saudi Arabia was the key to the success of the reductions, and if the world's biggest oil exporter took its time over the operation the oil price could be affected.
(Reporting by Fayen Wong in Perth and Alex Lawler in London; Editing by Anthony Barker)
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