* U.S. crude at 6-1/2-year low just above $40/barrel
* U.S. stockpiles rise unexpectedly on surge in imports
* Saudi Arabia oil exports up 430,000 bpd in June
(Updates throughout, changes dateline previous SINGAPORE)
By Lisa Barrington
LONDON, Aug 20 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil prices fell to
almost $40 a barrel on Thursday, its lowest since the global
financial crisis of 2009, as supplies rose in North America and
the Middle East, filling stockpiles to record levels.
Oil has lost a third of its value since June on high U.S.
production, record crude pumping in the Middle East and concern
about falling demand in Asian economies.
All the main oil futures contracts looked to be heading
lower, PVM Oil Associates director and technical analyst Robin
Bieber said.
"The trend is down and vicious," Bieber said in a note to
clients of the London brokerage.
U.S. crude oil, also known as West Texas Intermediate or WTI
CLc1 , was down 45 cents at $40.35 a barrel by 0910 GMT, after
hitting a new 6-1/2-year low of $40.23.
Brent crude futures LCOc1 , the global benchmark oil price,
were down 60 cents at $46.56 a barrel, still some way off their
2015 low of $45.19 traded in January.
U.S. crude inventories rose 2.6 million barrels last week to
456.21 million barrels, the government's Energy Information
Administration said.
Markets had been expecting a stock draw and the news pushed
WTI down more than 4 percent on Wednesday.
Stockpiles rose partly because a U.S. refinery closed for
repairs last week, but also because imports rose to their
highest level since April.
Canada increased exports to the United States by more than
400,000 barrels per day (bpd) over the past week to 3.39 million
bpd, an Energy Aspects research note said.
But U.S. crude oil production has also fallen by over
250,000 bpd since the start of June.
"While this is a clear sign that low prices will lead to
less production, it was not enough to convince people
yesterday," Commerzbank (XETRA:CBKG) senior oil analyst Carsten Fritsch said.
OPEC continues to pump record levels of oil, adding to the
global oil glut.
Saudi Arabia exported 7.365 million bpd in June, up from
6.935 million bpd in May, industry data showed.
Adding to oil's bearish environment, China stocks fell more
than 3 percent on Thursday as worries about the world's
second-largest economy persist.
Long-term derivatives markets are bearish.
Contracts for delivery of crude oil in the future show the
price of oil for delivery in five years' time has collapsed in
recent months.
Crude oil for delivery in 2020 costs only about $20 more
than current prices, futures markets show.