The West Texas Intermediate for April delivery shed 4.6 U.S. dollars, or 7.12 percent to settle at 60 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The U.S. crude futures suffered their largest one-day percentage loss since Sept. 8, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
Brent crude for May delivery decreased 4.72 dollars, or 6.94 percent, to close at 63.28 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
Prices came under pressure after data showed a rise in U.S. crude supplies. U.S. crude oil inventories increased by 2.4 million barrels during the week ending March 12, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said in a report on Wednesday. It marked the fourth weekly rise in a row in U.S. crude stockpiles.
A downbeat report by the International Energy Agency (IEA) also dampened optimism on oil market.
In its monthly report published on Wednesday, the IEA paints an unexpectedly pessimistic picture of demand trends. It now expects oil demand only to regain its pre-corona-crisis level in 2023.
Oil's slide also came as the U.S. dollar gained momentum. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, rose 0.48 percent at 91.8579 in late trading on Thursday. Historically, the price of oil is inversely related to the price of the U.S. dollar.
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