Investing.com - Oil prices fell to their lowest level in more than two months on Thursday, as indications of swelling U.S. crude stockpiles weighed.
U.S. oil inventories rose by a more-than-expected 3.2 million barrels last week, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.
It was the sixth straight weekly climb that has seen domestic supplies swell by a total of 31.9 million barrels over that period.
December West Texas Intermediate crude, the U.S. benchmark contract, was down 48 cents, or roughly 0.7%, to $64.83 a barrel by 7:30AM ET, having earlier touched its lowest since August 17 at $64.66.
International Brent crude oil futures slumped $1.13, or about 1.5%, to $74.34 per barrel, after hitting a session low of $74.08, a level last seen on August 22.
Losses were kept in check as looming U.S. sanctions on Iran, the third-largest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), are widely expected to lead to a tighter market.
The sanctions, due to come into force Nov. 4, are being reinstated after U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal earlier this year.
In other energy trading, gasoline futures declined 1% to $1.751 a gallon, while heating oil retreated 1.2% to $2.234 a gallon.
Natural gas futures tacked on 1% to $3.293 per million British thermal units, as traders looked ahead to weekly storage data due later in the global day.