Oil fell on Thursday, below $ 80 a barrel, as US crude inventories for the fourth week point to an abundance of supplies, while crude receives support from a drop in Iran's exports.
The US Energy Information Administration said Wednesday that US crude inventories rose 6.5 million barrels last week, a weekly increase for the fourth consecutive year, nearly three times the analysts' forecasts.
By 1010 GMT, Brent crude fell 70 cents to $ 79.35 a barrel. Crude is down more than $ 7 from the highest level since 2014 of $ 86.74 recorded on October 3.
US crude <CLc1> was down 61 cents at $ 69.14 a barrel.
"Stocks are getting stronger ... It's a steady trend, week after week, the impact has begun," Reuters oil analyst Olivier Jakob told Petromatrix.
Oil rose this week on fears of a drop in Iranian oil exports due to US sanctions on Iran.
