LONDON, Oct 22: The price of oil plunged close to $65 per barrel here on Wednesday, hitting a 17-month low after news that US energy stockpiles rose across the board last week, traders said.

The market was already facing intense selling pressure on renewed worries about energy demand in the face of slowing global growth and despite a likely Opec output cut later this week, analysts said.

London’s Brent North Sea crude for December delivery tumbled to $65.28 per barrel, which was last seen on May 20, 2007.

New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for December, sank as low as $67.50 a barrel, which was last witnessed on June 27, 2007.

The US Department of Energy (DoE) revealed on Wednesday that American crude oil reserves jumped 3.2 million barrels in the week ending October 17.

Gasoline or petrol inventories rose by 2.7 million barrels last week, the DoE added. The weekly US report is a central focus for the oil market because the United States is the biggest consumer of energy in the world.

Crude futures had gained some ground in recent sessions amid growing signals that Opec is likely to cut production when the oil producers’ cartel meets in Vienna on Friday.

However, worries about weaker energy consumption as the world’s developed economies hit a weak patch have investors fretting, dealers said.—AFP