LONDON, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Oil prices were steady on

Friday, heading for a weekly loss, as investors mulled waning

Chinese demand and a possible slowing of the U.S. Federal

Reserve's interest rate cut path.

Brent crude futures dropped 30 cents, or 0.41%, to

$72.26 a barrel by 1238 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude

futures were down 24 cents, or 0.35%, at $68.46.

For the week, Brent is set to fall 2% while WTI is set to

decline nearly 3%.

China's oil refiners in October processed 4.6% less crude

than a year earlier because of plant closures and reduced

operating rates at smaller independent refiners, data from the

National Bureau of Statistics showed on Friday.

The country's factory output growth slowed last month and

demand woes in its property sector showed few signs of abating,

adding to investors' concerns over the economic health of the

world's largest crude importer.

"China served a timely reminder about the true state of its

oil sector. The country's refinery throughput declined for the

seventh successive month in October," PVM analyst Tamas Varga

said.

Speaking on Thursday, Fed chair Jerome Powell said the U.S.

central bank did not need to rush to lower interest rates. Lower

interest rates typically spur economic growth, aiding fuel

demand.

Oil prices also fell this week as major forecasters

indicated slowing global demand growth.

"Global oil demand is getting weaker," said International

Energy Agency (IEA) Executive Director Fatih Birol on Friday at

the COP29 summit.

"We have been seeing this for some time and this is mainly

driven by the slowing Chinese economic growth and the increasing

penetration of electric cars around the world."

The IEA forecasts global oil supply to exceed demand by more

than 1 million bpd in 2025 even if cuts remain in place from

OPEC+.

OPEC meanwhile cut its forecast for global oil demand growth

for this year and 2025, highlighting weakness in China, India

and other regions.

Providing a floor to the price declines, U.S. gasoline

stocks fell by 4.4 million barrels last week to the lowest since

November 2022, the Energy Information Administration said,

outweighing a 2.1 million barrel crude oil stockbuild.

"Without the weekly statistics on US oil inventories the

major oil contracts would have probably settled lower (on

Thursday). Gasoline supported the whole complex," PVM's Varga

added.