May 13 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil prices may fall for a second week because of rising U.S. inventories and signs that growth in global demand is slowing, a Bloomberg survey showed.

Thirty-six of 59 analysts and strategists polled by Bloomberg, or 61 percent, said oil prices will fall next week, the most bearish survey result since November. Thirteen, or 22 percent, said they will rise, and 10 forecast little change.

U.S. crude supplies rose last week to the highest since July 1999, the Energy Department reported on May 11. The same day, the International Energy Agency said demand for oil from China may rise more slowly than expected. Oil in New York has fallen 7 percent since the reports.

``We expect the current downturn to continue,'' said Marshall Steeves, an analyst with Refco Group Inc. in New York. ``Bearish U.S. inventories and below-expected rates of demand growth are contributing to the decline.''

Crude oil has fallen $2.59, or 5.1 percent, this week on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices have declined 17 percent since reaching $58.28 a barrel on April 4, the highest since the contract was introduced in 1983. Oil for June delivery traded at $48.37 a barrel at 10:08 a.m. in Singapore.

Fifteen of the last 23 surveys have correctly predicted the market's direction. Last week's survey was closely divided, with 39 percent correctly predicting a decline and 35 percent forecasting an increase.

U.S. Inventories

U.S. crude-oil supplies have increased in 12 of the last 13 weekly reports. Last week, stockpiles of gasoline and distillate fuel, a category that includes heating oil and diesel, also rose. The U.S. consumes 25 percent of the world's crude oil.

U.S. crude oil supplies rose to 329.7 million barrels in the week ended May 6, the Energy Department said.

``If there are builds in inventories across the board again next week, prices could fall sharply,'' said Jason Schenker, an economist at Wachovia Corp. in Charlotte.

U.S. imports have surged as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries boosted output in an effort to lower prices that threatened economic and oil demand growth. Imports have averaged 10.1 million barrels a day so far this year, 4.6 percent higher than during the same period last year, Energy Department data show.

OPEC, which pumps 40 percent of the world's oil, increased production 0.9 percent in April to 30.07 million barrels a day compared with a month earlier, according to a Bloomberg survey. It was the most oil that OPEC members have pumped since October when the group produced 30.54 million barrels a day. OPEC output that month was the highest since 1979, according to department records.

World Demand

World oil demand will average 84.3 million barrels a day in 2005, the Paris-based IEA said, or 30,000 a day more than it estimated last month. The agency, an adviser to 26 countries, cut its forecast for oil demand growth in China this year to 7.4 percent from 7.9 percent. Last year, Chinese consumption rose 16 percent. China is the biggest oil consumer after the U.S.

The increase of the U.S. dollar against other currencies may push crude oil lower next week. The dollar surged to a six-month high against the euro and gained versus the yen yesterday after U.S. retail sales in April rose the most in seven months.

``The resurgence in the value of the U.S. dollar should put further pressure on oil prices,'' Steeves said. ``There has been a pretty close inverse relationship between oil and the dollar over the past year. OPEC may be able to live with a lower price if the dollar rises because oil is priced in dollars.''

OPEC officials said last year that a declining dollar justified higher oil prices because producers' buying power in other currencies, including the euro and yen, diminishes.

The dollar fell against the euro and yen for three straight years through 2004, spurring investors to move into commodity markets as a hedge.

``The commodity boom was in large part predicated on the fall in the dollar,'' Steeves said.

     Bloomberg's survey of oil analysts and traders, conducted
each Thursday, asks for an assessment of whether crude oil
futures are likely to rise, fall or remain neutral in the coming
week. The results were:

                     RISE       FALL      NEUTRAL
                      13         36         10

To contact the reporter on this story: Mark Shenk in New York at mshenk1@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: May 12, 2005 22:24 EDT