Mubasher: Oil prices dropped on Thursday after official figures showed that US crude inventories jumped to their highest levels in nearly 17 months, while economic concerns raised doubts over fuel demand growth, according to Reuters.

By 8:42 am GMT, global benchmark Brent futures fell 0.36% to $71.47 per barrel (pb), while US Nymex crude futures dropped 0.65% to $64.19 pb.

US oil stockpiles climbed 7 million barrels to 456.6 million barrels in the last week, their highest since November 2017, the Energy Information Administration reported on Wednesday. US crude output stood at record 12.2 million barrels per day (bpd).

In addition, worries mounted over the bearish impact of sluggish economic growth on fuel consumption, after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) this week shaved its global growth forecast to the lowest level since the economic crisis, Reuters said.

That said, global market remained tight due to the supply cuts led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in place since the beginning of this year, US sanctions against major crude exporters Iran and Venezuela, and an escalation of violence in oil-rich Libya, according to the news agency.

Both Brent and Nymex surged by nearly 30% and 40%, respectively since the beginning of this year.

“Pressure to global supplies continues to mount because of sanctions-linked problems in Iran and Venezuela and rising geopolitical risk in Libya,” SPI Asset Management trading head Stephen Innes was quoted by Reuters.