London: Oil slipped below $64 on Friday with OPEC members issuing fresh assurances about meeting world demand for crude. The OPEC meeting comes in the backdrop of slowing demand from the world market and the United States saying that Hurricane Katrina had spared underwater pipelines.

"As always, OPEC stands ready to supply additional oil to the market when necessary," a statement said, restating OPEC's policy of "ensuring that supply is at or above demand."
In the United States, the government said Hurricane Katrina had not caused major damage to underwater pipelines in the Gulf of Mexico oil and the gas producing region, unlike Hurricane Ivan last year.

US light crude fell $1.25 to US$63.50 a barrel. London Brent crude slipped $1.42 to 62.24.

The price of crude has doubled in a two-year rally and economies and industry are finally beginning to feel the strain. OPEC and the West's energy watchdog, International Energy Agency, have both trimmed their forecasts for oil demand growth over the past week.

Meanwhile French finance minister Thierry Breton called a meeting with oil company chiefs on Friday to demand they do more to help consumers. Total said it would invest 2.8 billion euros in refining by 2010 to boost its French diesel output. The British government is resisting calls to cut its hefty taxes on petrol and diesel.

Analysts say crude stocks are abundant and refiners have no need of extra supplies, an argument supported by the U.S. government's sale of only 11 million barrels of emergency reserves, about a third of the total it had offered.