UPDATE 9-Oil down in light volume; cautious week expected before OPEC

* Strong dollar, weak Chinese stock markets weigh
* Volumes lighter after Thanksgiving holiday
* Brent, WTI down about 10 percent since start of Nov
* Cautious trading expected ahead of Dec. 4 OPEC meeting

(Updates with market settlements)
By Barani Krishnan
NEW YORK, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Oil settled lower in light
post-holiday volume in New York on Friday as the dollar's rally
to an eight-month high and a tumble in Chinese equities added
pressure to oversupplied crude futures.
U.S. crude's West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures finished
3 percent lower, reopening after Thursday's Thanksgiving
holiday. Brent crude slipped more than 1 percent.
The dollar hit late-March highs against a basket of
currencies .DXY on speculation the Swiss National Bank would
follow the European Central Bank in dropping deposit rates. A
stronger greenback makes dollar-denominated commodities,
including oil, less affordable for holders of currencies such as
the euro. USD/
In China, stock prices slumped 5 percent, hit by regulatory
worries and declining industrial sector profits.
MKTS/GLOB
"Low volume holiday trade, largely off on strong dollar and
hard sell-off in Chinese equity markets," Jim Ritterbusch of
Chicago-based oil consultancy Ritterbusch & Associates said in a
commentary on oil.
WTI CLc1 settled down $1.33 at $41.71 a barrel, trading
just over 280,000 lots, Reuters data showed. Activity in WTI has
dwindled since Monday's volume above 500,000 lots, which is
typical of a busy day in oil.
Benchmark Brent oil LCOc1 ended the session down 60 cents
at $44.86.
For the week, WTI rose 4 percent and Brent less than half
percent. But for the month, both were down about 10 percent.
Analysts expect oil to enter more cautious trading next week
ahead of an all-important policy setting meeting of the
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries on Dec. 4.
While OPEC is expected to stick to high output levels to
defend market share, traders and investors are wary of recent
comments by top crude exporter Saudi Arabia that it was open to
working on price support measures with other oil producers.
"The meeting promises to be very lively and acrimonious,"
David Hufton, analyst at London-based PVM, said. "There may even
be walkouts ... and it could still spring a very unlikely
surprise."
Some OPEC officials questioned an upbeat demand forecast
from its researchers, expressing scepticism there will be a
quick easing by 2016 of the global supply glut in oil.