UPDATE 10-Oil gives up gains even as OPEC works on big output cut

* OPEC+ panel recommends additional 1 mln bpd output cuts
* U.S. crude oil inventories rise less than expected
* Analysts cut price outlook on expected fall in demand

(Updates with settlement prices, additional OPEC details,
recasts top)
By Bozorgmehr Sharafedin and David Gaffen
LONDON/NEW YORK, March 4 (Reuters) - Crude oil prices ended
lower, giving up early gains as major oil producers, including
Saudi Arabia, struggled to bring Russia on board for deeper
supply cuts to try to offset a slump in demand caused by the
coronavirus outbreak.
As the outbreak has spread, oil has dropped sharply, and
rebounds have been short-lived. Brent crude futures LCOc1
settled down 73 cents, or 1.4%, to $51.13 a barrel, after
reaching a high of $53.03 in the morning. U.S. West Texas
Intermediate (WTI) CLc1 ended down 40 cents to $46.78 a
barrel.
Saudi Arabia and other members of the Organization of the
Petroleum Exporting Countries are seeking to persuade Russia to
join in large additional oil output cuts to prop up prices. The
group, known as OPEC+, has already cut 2.1 million bpd in
supply, helping to shore up the price of crude.
The group wants to cut at least 1 million more bpd in supply
from the market, OPEC sources told Reuters. Russia, which is not
an OPEC member, is known for holding out on such deals until the
last minute. As of Wednesday, a panel of several ministers from
the group had not locked down an agreement. Iran's Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said the market was
facing a surplus. "Right now, the supply in the market is greater than
demand," Zanganeh said. "It's necessary for OPEC and non-OPEC to
make all their efforts to balance the market."
Goldman Sachs cut its Brent price forecast to $45 a barrel
in April while expecting Brent to gradually recover to $60 a
barrel by the year-end. The bank said while an output cut by OPEC "will help
normalize oil demand and inventories later this year, they can't
prevent an already started large oil inventory accumulation."
Morgan Stanley cut its second-quarter 2020 Brent price
forecast to $55 per barrel and its WTI outlook to $50 on
expectations for reduced demand.
"The market is going to be weighed down by the coronavirus
impact on demand destruction," said Andrew Lipow, president of
Lipow Oil Associates. "I do not see oil demand recovering to
pre-virus levels for several months, as additional outbreaks in
Europe and the U.S. are going to cause travel and meeting
disruptions and demand destruction."
Crude oil stocks in the United States grew by 785,000
barrels, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said, which
was less than expected. Gasoline and diesel stocks both fell by
more than 4 million barrels. Exports surged to nearly 4.2
million bpd.
"Today's data confirms what the physical market has been
telling us: It's not that bad out here, at least for now," said
Scott Shelton, energy salesperson from United ICAP in Durham,
North Carolina.

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OPEC production vs. world demand png https://tmsnrt.rs/396Q404
Crude prices fall as coronavirus cases rise png https://tmsnrt.rs/32uvPHc
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