Oil prices fell on Thursday, prolonging losses from the previous session, as concerns about weak energy demand from Asia collided with signs of increased US supply. Brent futures lost 28 cents to trade at $80.90 a barrel while West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) lost 31 cents to $76.35 a barrel. Both benchmarks fell over 1.5 percent in the prior session. WTI's front-month contract was also worse than the second month, a structure known as contango, suggesting investors believe prices to increase ahead. The front month's discount to the second month traded at -15 cents on Wednesday, the widest discount since July. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that U.S. crude stocks increased from 3.6 million barrels last week to 421.9 million barrels, significantly exceeding analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.8 million-barrel increase. U.S. crude production held steady at a record 13.2 million barrels per day (bpd). Meanwhile, China's oil refinery data eased in October from the previous month's highs as industrial fuel demand weakened and refining margins narrowed. Still, its economic activity perked up in October as industrial output increased at a faster pace and retail sales growth beat expectations, as reported by Stephanie Kelly.
