Investing.com - Crude futures plunged to three-year lows on Thursday on news that Chinese industrial output missed expectations, which stoked concerns the world's second-largest consumer of oil may be battling increasing headwinds.
Expectations for OPEC countries to avoid cutting output quotas to shore up prices pressured prices lower as well.
In the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for delivery in December traded down 2.49% at $75.26 a barrel during U.S. trading, up from a session low of $74.97 a barrel and off a high of $77.16 a barrel.
The December contract settled down 0.98% at $77.18 a barrel on Wednesday.
Support for the commodity was seen at $74.95 a barrel, the low from Oct. 4, 2011, and resistance at $78.08 a barrel, Wednesday's high.
Factory activity in China grew slower last month when markets were expecting an uptick, official data showed on Thursday.
The National Bureau of Statistics of China reported earlier that Chinese industrial production fell to 7.7% in October from 8.0% in the preceding month.
Analysts had expected growth to remain unchanged at 8.0%, and the disappointing figure exacerbated growing concerns that supply far outstrips demand.
Elsewhere, expectations that OPEC countries will not cut output to relieve a global supply glut pressured prices lower as well.
Oil ministers from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have resisted calls to lower production, while Libya, Venezuela and Ecuador have asked for action to prevent further price declines.
The 12-member oil cartel is scheduled to meet in Vienna on Nov. 27 to discuss whether to adjust their production target for 2015.
Saudi Arabia has expressed a willingness to let prices slide on the presumed expectations that U.S. shale producers will halt operations as a result, as such production costs more than traditional drilling.
Once U.S. shale producers table their operations for profitability reason, prices would presumably rise as the global economy absorbs excess supply.
Separately, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil futures for December delivery were down 2.51% at US$79.09 a barrel, while the spread between Brent and U.S. crude contracts stood at $4.50.