By Koustav Samanta
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices tumbled more than $2 dollars, hitting fresh session lows on Monday, as traders took profits after last week's surge to an 11-week high, and on a report that OPEC continued to boost crude production despite a persistent glut.
Benchmark Brent crude was down $2.22, or more than 4 percent, at $50.43 by 1:20 p.m. ET (1720 GMT), the biggest percentage decline since the start of September.
U.S. light crude was down $2.22, or about 4.5 percent, at $47.41.
"After an 8 percent rally last week and a move up to the 200 day moving average at $51, crude oil has just gone too far too fast and a pull back today was to be expected," said Phillip Streible, senior market strategist at Chicago-based RJO Futures.
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Last week, the U.S. front-month crude contract breached the 100-day moving average and almost came within a cent of the 200-day moving average on Friday.
Crude prices were pressured on Monday when secondary sources cited in OPEC's monthly report said the group pumped 31.57 million bpd in September, up 110,000 bpd from August and almost 2 million bpd more than its demand prediction for this year.
OPEC trimmed its estimate of 2016 world oil demand growth by 40,000 bpd to 1.25 million bpd, citing slower growth in China.[OPEC/M]
"The OPEC demand forecast for 2016... suggests some concern about the strength of demand next year. We are primarily wary of this risk," said Richard Hastings, macro strategist at North Carolina-based Global Hunter Securities.
"All of it puts a rebalancing phase deeper into 2016," Hastings added.
Kuwait Oil Minister Ali al-Omair said there were no calls within OPEC to change the production policy and that lower output from high-cost producers could support prices in 2016, adding to signs OPEC will keep its strategy of defending market share.
Oil has been on a roller-coaster ride over the last few weeks, recovering from six-year lows in turbulent trade. North Sea Brent crude dropped to almost $42 a barrel in August, from a peak above $115 in June 2014, but then rallied back to an intraday high of $54.05 on Friday.
(Additional reporting by Christopher Johnson in London, Scott Disavino in New York and Henning Gloystein in Singapore; Editing by Jessica Resnick-Ault and Alan Crosby)
