Oil demand in top consumer the United States has fallen sharply from levels a year ago due to the credit crisis and slowing economy, BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward said on Monday.

"According to our preliminary data, US demand was down 2 million barrels per day on the year over the last four weeks," Hayward said in a speech to an energy conference in Abu Dhabi.

Hayward said increased oil supply from Opec earlier in the year, as well as falling demand from developed countries, had led to oil's dramatic slide from its record high reached in July of $147.27 a barrel.

US crude was down 99 cents at $66.82 a barrel by 1039 GMT on Monday, after falling as low as $66.54.

London-based BP, Europe's second-largest oil company by market value, issues a respected publication on world energy trends each year. Hayward said that in the longer term, oil market fundamentals remained tight.

He said supply from producers outside Opec had consistently fallen below expectations. This year, non-Opec supply was likely to decline by 200,000 bpd, reversing BP's expectations at the start of the year that producers outside of Opec would increase output by 800,000 bpd.

"Supply is consistently failing to respond to market signals," Hayward said. "Oil demand growth will pick up again and we will again come up against the mid-term issue of constrained supply."    

He said massive industrialisation in emerging economies such as China and India was irreversible and would continue to feed strong demand growth. - Reuters