Oil prices plunge as US inventories jump and worries build over China demand

• Oil prices plummeted on Thursday as traders took in higher US inventories and waning demand in China.
• The US crude inventories jumped by 3.6 million barrels last week, the EIA said Wednesday.

Oil prices plummeted on Thursday, thanks to a recent boost in US crude inventories and concerns that demand in China will continue to soften.

Brent crude, the international benchmark, slid 3.7% to $78.15 a barrel. Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate crude tumbled 4.1% to $73.50 a barrel.

On Wednesday, the Energy Information Administration said US crude inventories jumped by 3.6 million barrels last week, about double the 1.8 million-barrel increase expected in a Reuters analyst poll.

Meanwhile, US oil production continued to hover around a record 13.2 million barrels a day, the EIA said.

Markets also remain concerned over the outlook for China's crude demand amid a host of economic problems. The nation's refining output slumped 2.8% in October to just 15.1 million barrels a day, according to China's National Bureau of Statistics.

The recent slide in oil prices reverses much of the rally in the back-end of summer, when Saudi Arabia and Russia vowed to cut their crude production through the end of the year.

OPEC+ leaders have been attempting to bolster crude prices for months, with Saudi Arabia's energy chief recently denouncing speculators in the energy market who could be artificially lowering crude prices.

Still, some Wall Street forecasters remain bullish on oil into 2024, citing a long-running trend of underinvestment in the industry that will make it difficult to boost supplies in the future.

Crude and other commodities are likely headed for a "supercycle," according to Goldman Sachs, which sees Brent prices heading back up to $100 a barrel in 2024.