Oil prices dropped in early trade on Thursday, adding to heavy losses overnight, after a build in U.S. gasoline inventories pointed to a deteriorating outlook for fuel demand as coronavirus cases soar in North America and Europe.
Brent crude futures retreated 22 cents, or 0.5%, to $41.51 a barrel at 0328 GMT after sliding 3.3% on Wednesday, Reuters said.
Read alsoReuters: Oil prices slip as U.S. inventory build stokes fears of supply glut
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 26 cents, or 0.7%, to $39.77 a barrel, after skidding 4% on Wednesday.
U.S. gasoline stocks rose by 1.9 million barrels in the week to October 16, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said, compared with expectations for a 1.8 million-barrel drop.
Overall product supplied, a proxy for demand, averaged 18.3 million barrels per day in the four weeks to October 16, the EIA said - down 13% from the same period a year earlier.
