NEW YORK: Oil prices slumped on Wednesday, driving major benchmarks to their lowest settlement levels since early October, after OPEC and the International Energy Agency warned of impending oversupply, while rising COVID-19 cases in Europe increased downside risks to demand recovery.

       Prices dropped further in thin post-close trading after Reuters reported that the United States was asking other major global oil consumers like China and Japan to consider a coordinated release of oil reserves to bring prices down.

       Brent crude futures fell US$1.36, or 1.7%, to $81.05 a barrel by 12:18 p.m. EST (1718 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures settled at $78.36, down $2.40, a 3% decline.

       The declines took Brent to its lowest close since Oct. 1 and U.S. crude to its lowest settlement since Oct. 7. Traders said funds apparently are weighing a greater likelihood that supply will start to outpace demand, with sharp declines in near-term futures pointing to funds closing long positions.

       "It signals a movement towards balance which we’ve not seen for many months," said Tony Headrick, energy analyst at CHS Hedging.

       In post-close trading, U.S. crude fell to $77.98 a barrel.- Reuters