Petroleum prices fell to session lows during mid-morning trade on Wednesday, extending earlier losses on a reported build in weekly U.S. crude stockpiles that was confirmed by government figures.
Data released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed U.S. crude inventories rose by 7.1 million barrels in the week ending March 1, roughly matching data from the American Petroleum Institute released on Tuesday.
The increased compared with analysts' expectations for a modest increase of 1.2 million barrels in a poll of economists.
International Brent crude futures were down 42 cents at $65.44 U.S. per barrel mid-morning Wednesday, from their last settlement. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down 85 cents, or 1.5%, at $55.71 U.S. per barrel.
EIA also said crude stocks at the closely watched delivery hub at Cushing, Oklahoma rose by about 800,000 barrels.
Countering the surge in crude stockpiles, gasoline inventories south of the border fell by 4.2 million barrels and stocks of distillate fuel including diesel were down 2.4 million barrels.
EIA also issued its latest estimate on weekly U.S. oil production on Wednesday. The preliminary figures showed American output at 12.1 million barrels per day, matching last week's record.
The rise in North American production undermines the ongoing supply cut efforts led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.
OPEC and its allies pledged to curb output by 1.2 million barrels per day, and they are likely to push back their decision whether or not to extend the output cut agreement to June from April.
