Oil drops largest percentage in 7 years on crude build

By Rebekah Kebede

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices slid 12 percent on Wednesday, the largest percentage drop in seven years, after a U.S. government report showed crude inventories rose much more than expected in the world's top energy consumer.

Crude oil stocks swelled by 6.7 million barrels, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said, more than seven times the 900,000-barrel increase analysts had expected.

Gasoline and distillate stocks also rose as refinery utilization climbed and demand remained sluggish.

U.S. crude for February delivery settled at $42.63 a barrel, down $5.95 or 12.25 percent, the biggest single-day loss, percentage-wise, since prices plunged 15.25 percent on September 24, 2001.

London Brent crude settled at $45.86, down $4.67.

"We had pretty large builds in all categories. I think it's a confirmation of the weak demand environment. Any time the market sees physical confirmation of that in inventory building, it's just another reason to move lower, and that's what we're seeing right now," said Amanda Kurzendoerfer, commodities analyst at Summit Energy in Louisville, Kentucky.

Oil demand in the United States, as well as Europe and Asia, has been eroded by the global economic slowdown.

Total oil products demand in the United States in the past four weeks was down 2.9 percent from a year ago, the EIA said.