Monday crude futures plunged below $47 per barrel as traders expected another build in U.S. crude stocks, not paying attention to another attack on Iraqi oil fields and strike threat in Nigeria.
US Light sweet December futures were at $46.93 per barrel mid-afternoon Monday on the New York Mercantile Exchange, falling 39 cents from its Friday closing.
"Crude inventories have now returned to comfortable levels after being depleted by Hurricane Ivan," said Energyintel's analyst in a research note.
Commercially available crude supplies rose to 291.5 million barrels, the U.S. Energy Department said last week. Supplies are likely to rise again this week, traders said.
