Investing.com - West Texas Intermediate oil futures fell more than 1% on Thursday, amid speculation weekly supply data due later in the session will show U.S. crude inventories rose at a faster pace than expected last week.
Crude oil for delivery in November on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell to an intraday low of $45.63 a barrel, the weakest level since October 5, before trading at $45.87 during U.S. morning hours, down 77 cents, or 1.65%.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration was to release its weekly report on oil supplies at 11:00AM Eastern time Thursday. The report comes out one day later than usual due to Monday's Columbus Day holiday in the U.S.
The data was expected to show that crude stockpiles rose by 2.9 million barrels last week, while gasoline stockpiles were forecast to decline by 1.7 million barrels.
After markets closed Wednesday, the American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, said that U.S. crude inventories rose by a whopping 9.3 million barrels in the week ended October 9.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil for November delivery shed 47 cents, or 0.94%, to trade at $49.23 a barrel.
The oil market has been volatile in recent months amid uncertainty about how quickly the global glut of crude is set to shrink.
Global oil production is outpacing demand following a boom in U.S. shale oil production and after a decision by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries last year not to cut production.
Saudi Arabia and other Gulf OPEC members have indicated they will continue to stick to their policy of defending market share by keeping production high.
Oil prices have lost nearly 60% since last summer as lingering concerns over a glut in world markets drove down prices.
Meanwhile, the spread between the Brent and the WTI crude contracts stood at $3.36 a barrel, compared to $2.98 by close of trade on Wednesday.