Investing.com - West Texas Intermediate oil futures extended losses from the previous session to trade near a two-year low on Thursday, as ongoing concerns over rising supplies and weakening demand weighed.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude oil for delivery in December traded at $80.31 a barrel during European morning hours, down 21 cents, or 0.26%.
Futures were likely to find support at $79.78, the low from October 16 and the weakest level since June 2012, and resistance at $83.23, the high from October 21.
A day earlier, U.S. oil prices tumbled $1.97, or 2.39%, to settle at $80.52 a barrel, after data showed a second consecutive weekly jump in U.S. crude stockpiles.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that U.S. crude oil inventories rose by 7.1 million barrels last week, more than double expectations for a gain of 2.7 million barrels.
Total U.S. crude oil inventories stood at 377.7 million barrels as of last week, the highest since July.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent for December delivery shed 33 cents, or 0.38%, to hit $84.39 a barrel.
Brent prices lost $1.51, or 1.75%, on Wednesday to end at $84.71 a barrel. London-traded Brent prices fell to a four-year low of $82.93 on October 16.
Data released earlier showed that the preliminary reading of China’s HSBC manufacturing index inched up to a three-month high of 50.3 in October from 50.2 in September and above forecasts for 50.3.
Despite the improvement in the headline number, the level of output in factories fell to a five-month low of 50.7 this month, underlining concerns over a cooling economy.
A government report on Tuesday said that China’s economy expanded at an annual rate of 7.3% in the third quarter, down from growth of 7.5% in the preceding quarter.
While the figure exceeded market expectations of 7.2%, it was also the slowest expansion since the first quarter of 2009.
China is the world's second largest oil consumer after the U.S. and has been the engine of strengthening demand.
London-traded Brent prices have fallen nearly 26% since June, when it climbed near $116, while WTI futures are down almost 23% from a recent peak of $107.50 in June.
Concerns over weakening global demand combined with indications that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will not cut output to support oil markets have weighed on prices in recent weeks.
OPEC oil output hit a two-year high of 31 million barrels per day in September, led by higher production from Iraq and Libya.
Some market analysts believe that only a cut in production by the oil cartel will halt the decline in prices.
Oil ministers from the 12-member group are scheduled to meet in Vienna on November 27 to consider whether to adjust their production target for early 2015.