Crude prices fell for the seventh straight day on Thursday as excess fuel inventories created concerns about weak demand, Xinhua reported.
Oil prices dipped below 70 U.S. dollars a barrel for the first time since October on Thursday after U.S. Energy Information Administration reported inventories on Wednesday.
The report said that, during the week ending December 4, gasoline stockpiles increased 2.25 million barrels to 216.3 million barrels, much higher than the 1.5 million barrels analysts had expected.
Light, sweet crude for January delivery was down 13 cents to 70. 54 U.S. dollars a barrel after falling as low as 69.81 dollars on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
In London, Brent crude for January delivery was down 53 cents, to settled at 71.86 dollars on the ICE Futures Exchange.