US crude fell 2 percent to $41.90 per barrel, while benchmark Brent dropped 1.8 percent to $44.16 a barrel.
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But OPEC countries are continuing to produce at peak levels.
Oil prices fell on Thursday as a build in USA crude inventories and record Saudi Arabian production reinforced fears of a persistent supply overhang that will last well into next year and keep weighing on markets.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said he had started consultations with the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) members as well as Russian Federation on stabilizing oil prices.
Oil declined after a government report showed USA crude inventories increased on weakening demand from refineries.
Opec production, meanwhile, increased last month by 46,000 barrels per day to average 33.11 million bpd, with Saudi Arabia’s output hitting a record 10.67 million bpd, up 123,000 bpd from June. They bounced recently and were up 28 cents at $45.26 per barrel late on Wednesday.
September Crude Oil posted a two-sided trade on Wednesday following the release of a government oil report that showed a big decrease in gasoline stockpiles and an offsetting surprise build in crude inventories.
The latest set of weekly figures from the Energy Information Administration´s revealed a build of 1.1m barrels in United States commercial crude inventories, against a forecast for a 1.75m-barrel fall from analysts at S&P Global Platts.
Saudi Arabia pumped 10.67 million barrels per day of crude in July, according to figures it provided to Opec.
Oil has fluctuated after tumbling more than 20 per cent into a bear market and closing below US$40 a barrel last week for the first time in nearly four months.
Oil prices have been fluctuating since entering a “bear” market last week, falling more than 20 percent and closing below $40 a barrel for the first time since April.
“It’s not surprising to see Saudi output at a record”.
These changes on oil demand and supply have had a severe impact on crude oil prices, with the price of the OPEC Reference Basket suffering a 6.9% slump in July, after a significant recovery.
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SINGAPORE – Oil prices dipped on Wednesday as a global supply overhang weighed on markets, while talk of a potential producer meeting to discuss propping up prices lent some support but was met with scepticism by analysts. “Also, the Saudis are processing more crude this year at refineries as they want to grow in the products market”, analyst Anas al-Hajji told Bloomberg.
