Mubasher: Oil prices fell on Thursday as US crude output rapidly approached an unprecedented 12 million barrels per day (bpd), amid concerns about weakening demand.

By 8:30 am GMT, international benchmark Brent futures declined 0.77% to $60.85 per barrel (pb), as US Nymex crude futures fell 0.86% to $51.86 pb.

US oil production amounted to a record 11.9 million bpd during the week ended 11 January, up from the prior week’s 11.7 million bpd, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) stated on Wednesday.

Since January 2018, US production surged 2.4 million, sparking anxieties over a supply glut.

Gasoline inventories jumped 7.5 million barrels last week, while stockpiles were at 255.6 million barrels, the highest weekly level since February 2017.

“While (US oil) inventories fell slightly more than expected, there was a large build in gasoline inventories,[stoking] fears of weak demand in the US,” ANZ Bank said in a note.

In the same vein, crude exports from the US climbed, hitting a record of 3.2 million bpd by the end of last year.

The US is heading for energy independence, while it “is expected to become a petroleum net exporter next year thanks to rising shale output,” Swiss Julius Baer commodity research head Norbert Ruecker told Thomson Reuters.

The surge in US output comes amid worries about a faltering demand growth owing to a slowdown in global economy.

In an effort to rein in a looming market glut, a group of producers led by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), including Russia is pushing for reducing supply, limiting a steep fall in crude prices.