* U.S. crude at 6-1/2-year low just above $40/barrel
* U.S. crude September front contract expires on Thursday
* U.S. stockpiles rise unexpectedly on surge in imports
* Saudi Arabia oil exports up 430,000 bpd in June
(Updates prices in paragraphs 5-8, 17)
By Lisa Barrington
LONDON, Aug 20 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil prices fell to
almost $40 a barrel on Thursday, their 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 brokerage
note.
U.S. crude oil CLc1 , was up 10 cents at $40.90 a barrel by
1340 GMT, after hitting a new 6-1/2-year intraday low of $40.21.
The U.S. crude front September contract expires on Thursday
and has seen intraday volatility as market participants exit
their positions.
The U.S. crude October contract hit an intraday low of
$40.50 on Thursday.
Brent crude futures LCOc1 , the global oil benchmark, were
down 30 cents at $46.86 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 more than
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.
In the latest sign of Saudi Arabia's attempt to secure
market share, Egypt said on Thursday it agreed a $1.4 billion
three-month oil products deal with state-owned Saudi Aramco to
begin in September.