Oil prices slid today following a mixed US petroleum report that showed an increase in reserves but a dip in production.
US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for October delivery lost 27 cents to $45.98 per barrel. Brent North Sea crude for October dropped 32 cents in early afternoon London deals to $50.17.
Analysts said that oil prices have been hit by a new massive sell-off yesterday after the publication of weekly statistics on American crude stocks.
After surging more than 25%, oil prices turned sharply lower on Tuesday after weak manufacturing data from China and the US clouded the outlook for demand growth in the two biggest energy consumers.
The US Department of Energy's petroleum report for the week to August 28 yesterday showed commercial crude stocks rose by 4.7 million barrels to 455.4 million, sitting near eight-decade highs.
The increase was much bigger than the 900,000 barrels on average expected in a survey of experts by Bloomberg News.
Crude output, however, fell 119,000 barrels to 9.22 million a day. Petrol inventories fell 300,000 barrels to 214.2 million.
Dealers had been hoping that an uptick in US demand, coupled with a slowdown in output, could whittle down the huge global supplies that were a key reason for the collapse in crude prices from more than $100 a barrel in June last year.
They are also waiting to see if the US Federal Reserve will raise interest rates at its next policy meeting this month.
A rate rise will boost the greenback, making dollar-priced oil more expensive to holders of weaker currencies, hurting demand and helping push crude prices lower.
