Investing.com - Oil prices slid further below the $59 a barrel level on Wednesday, pressured by ongoing concerns over the global demand outlook, as energy traders awaited inventory data for fresh insights on the supply side.
Brent crude, the global benchmark, was trading at $58.76 a barrel by 07:51 AM ET (11:51 GMT). U.S. crude futures gained 20 cents to trade at $53.01.
Concerns over the global demand outlook for oil mounted after the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday the U.S.-China trade war would cut 2019 global growth to its slowest since the 2008-2009 financial crisis.
"Prices are under pressure from increasing pessimism about the global economy and subsequent demand-side concerns," Stephen Brennock of oil broker PVM said.
Energy traders were looking ahead inventory data later in the day. The American Petroleum Institute will release its weekly stockpile report at 4:30 PM ET, a day later than usual due to the Columbus Day holiday.
The EIA is to publish its weekly report on domestic oil inventories on Thursday, with analysts expecting a supply build of 2.77 million barrels after a rise of 2.91 million barrels last week.
Prices found some support from indications that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries could announce further curbs to oil output in December. OPEC and its allies meet on Dec. 5-6 in Vienna to review output policy.
On Tuesday, OPEC Secretary-General Mohammad Barkindo said there is an option for OPEC and its allies is to implement deeper cuts in oil production.
Barkindo said OPEC would do what it could with allied producers to sustain oil market stability beyond 2020, in a signal the producers would continue to cooperate. Russia and other producers have a deal to cut oil output by 1.2 million barrels per day until March 2020, but Russian officials have so far said it was too early to discuss additional output cuts.
--Reuters contributed to this report