Investing.com - Oil prices edged lower on Thursday, as oversupply concerns remained a factor for oil markets.
Trade volumes were expected to remain light on Thursday, with U.S. markets closed for the Thanksgiving holiday.
On the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil for January delivery slumped 36 cents, or 0.78%, to trade at $45.81 a barrel during European morning hours. A day earlier, prices inched up 5 cents, or 0.11%.
The oil market has been on the defensive in recent months amid uncertainty about how quickly the global glut of crude is set to shrink.
Saudi Arabia said earlier this week that it is prepared to use all measures necessary to ensure a stable oil market. The world's biggest oil producer added that it is ready to cooperate with OPEC and non-OPEC producers in order to stabilize prices.
OPEC will meet on December 4 to review their output strategy. Global oil production is outpacing demand following a boom in U.S. shale oil production and after a decision by OPEC last year not to cut production in order to defend their market share.
Elsewhere, crude oil for delivery in January on the New York Mercantile Exchange dipped 6 cents, or 0.13%, to trade at $42.99 a barrel.
On Wednesday, Nymex futures rose 17 cents, or 0.4%, after data showed that oil supplies in the U.S. rose less than expected last week.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said that crude oil inventories rose by 961,000 barrels in the week ended November 20. Market analysts' expected a crude-stock rise of 1.2 million barrels, while the American Petroleum Institute late Tuesday reported a supply gain of 2.6 million barrels.
Total U.S. crude oil inventories stood at 488.2 million barrels as of last week, remaining near levels not seen for this time of year in at least the last 80 years.
Also Wednesday, industry research group Baker Hughes (N:BHI) said that the number of rigs drilling for oil in the U.S. declined by 9 last week to 555. A lower U.S. rig count is usually a bullish sign for oil as it signals potentially lower production in the future.
Meanwhile, the spread between the Brent and the WTI crude contracts stood at $2.82 a barrel, compared to $3.13 by close of trade on Wednesday.