Oil falls to near $83 in Asia ahead of US data

Oil prices fell to near $83 a barrel Wednesday in Asia after a sharp rally ahead of the release of key U.S. data that could indicate the economic health of the world's largest crude consumer nation.

Benchmark oil fell $1.26, or 1.5 percent, to $83.19 a barrel at midafternoon Kuala Lumpur time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract surged $4.21 to finish at $84.45 per barrel in New York on Tuesday.

In London, Brent crude for November delivery was down 80 cents at $106.34 on the ICE Futures exchange.

Oil's rally Tuesday mirrored gains in global stock markets, buoyed by hopes that Europe was preparing a plan to contain the region's debt crisis that would prevent another recession.

But some analysts foresee bleak prospects.