Oil Prices Struggle to Recover from 13-Month Lows

Investing.com – U.S. crude continued to decline on Thursday – hovering near 13-month lows in holiday-thinned trade due to Thanksgiving in the U.S. – as rising inventories stateside and worries of oversupply weighed on the commodity.

New York-traded dropped 11 cents, or 0.20%, at $54.52 a barrel by 9:31 AM ET (14:31 GMT).

Meanwhile, , the benchmark for oil prices outside the U.S., edged forward 7 cents, or 3.11%, to $63.55.

Both barrels are in negative territory for 2018, while U.S. crude has fallen 30% to levels not seen since Oct. 2017 from the four-year high reached just last Oct. 3.

Investors remain concerned that a global economic slowdown will dampen demand even as key producers – mainly the U.S., Saudi Arabia and Russia – continue to ramp up production.

The latest data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration released on Wednesday showed that U.S. commercial crude oil inventories rose by 4.9 million barrels to 446.91 million barrels last week.

That was the highest level since December last year and the increase was nearly double analysts’ expectations.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is worried about the emergence of a glut that could pull down prices further and is scrambling to reach an agreement with non-OPEC allies led by Russia to cut output levels.

OPEC hopes to push through such a deal when it on Dec. 6.

In other energy trading, lost 0.33% to $1.5020 a gallon by 9:34 AM ET (14:34 GMT), while advanced 0.16% to $1.9733 a gallon.

Lastly, traded down 5.06% to $4.226 per million British thermal units.

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