Oil Prices Down as Supply Fears Ease LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices fell further from record highs on Monday as easing concern about winter supplies prompted big-money hedge funds to switch money away from oil and into other financial markets. U.S. light crude (CLc1: Quote , Profile , Research ) fell 61 cents to $49.00 a barrel, nearly $7 below the all-time peak at $55.67 struck on Oct 25. London Brent crude (LCOc1: Quote , Profile , Research ) was down 57 cents at $45.85 a barrel. Rising crude and natural gas stockpiles in the United States and signs that high energy costs are hurting economic growth have gradually eroded a rally that had lifted prices more than 50 percent this year. As confidence grows over supplies for the northern winter, speculative hedge funds cut their long positions in New York crude oil futures to the lowest levels in a year, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission said on Friday. Funds often rejig their portfolios at this time of year to lock in profits and reduce end-year exposure, analysts said. "Early November historically is characterized by significant cuts in the funds' long positions and, for that reason, a drop in WTI prices averaging 3 percent over the past five years," said Frederic Lasserre of SG bank in Paris. Heavy fund buying has helped drive oil's rally this year as poor returns on equity markets and big falls in the dollar's value drew speculators to look for profits in commodities markets instead. While the dollar fell to a fresh record low against the euro on Monday, this time other markets are seeing fresh buying interest. Gold prices rose to a fresh 16-year high on Monday, and equities markets should also benefit, analysts said. "U.S. economic statistics have foreshadowed further increases in Fed Funds rates, encouraging the macro funds to reallocate their portfolios, with a higher preference for stocks," said SG's Lasserre. PAST THEIR PEAK? A surge in output to more than 30 million bpd by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, which controls around half world exports, has helped replenish U.S. crude stocks by 10 million barrels in the past two weeks. This has allayed supply concerns that have plagued the market since September's Hurricane Ivan, which knocked out more than a quarter of Gulf of Mexico production for weeks.     Continued ... Quelle "Oil Prices Down as Supply Fears Ease" : reuters.com Main page for "Oil Prices Down as Supply Fears Ease"