Crude prices edge lower, though supply concerns still dominant | Reuters

Crude prices edge lower, though supply concerns still dominant | Reuters

Oil edged lower on Thursday, posting slim losses after several days of strength that pushed benchmarks to seven-year highs due to concerns about tight supply.

Brent crude futures settled down 6 cents to $88.38 a barrel. The global benchmark rose to $89.17 on Wednesday, its highest level since October 2014; the benchmark is up 13% on the year so far.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for February delivery lost 6 cents to $86.90 a barrelon the last day of the contract's life. WTI is up 15% so far this year. The more active March WTI contract settled at $85.55 a barrel, down 25 cents.

Crude stocks rose by 515,000 barrels last week while gasoline inventories rose by 5.9 million barrels, boosting those inventories to their highest in a year, according to the U.S. Energy Department.