Oil slumps 4%, records lowest close in 5 months

Oil drilling rigs

Oil futures deepened their losses today, Dec. 6, amid demand concerns as data showed that US gasoline inventories rose by 5.4 million barrels last week—more than five times the expected increase of one million barrels.

Brent crude futures for February delivery (the most active) slumped 3.75%, or $2.9, to close at $74.3 per barrel—the lowest level since July 3.

WTI crude for January delivery dropped 4%, or $2.94, to $69.38 per barrel, which is the lowest closing since July 3.

The Energy Information Administration announced that US crude inventories decreased by 4.6 million barrels last week, while inventories at the Cushing Delivery Center—the largest storage center in the United States—increased by 1.8 million barrels.

The data also showed a rise in net US crude imports by about 2.1 million barrels per day.

Crude production fell by 100,000 barrels per day to 13.1 million barrels per day, which is the first weekly decline since July.

Meanwhile, OPEC's oil production declined by 90,000 barrels per day to 27.81 million barrels per day in November, recording its first monthly decline since last July, following a decrease in supplies from Nigeria and Iraq, a Reuters survey showed.