MABUX: World fuel indexes declined on U.S.rig count and stockpiles build up.

World fuel indexes declined on U.S. rig count and stockpiles build up.

Brent for December settlement fell 9 cents to $47.99 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange, down 4.9 percent for the week. WTI for December delivery dropped 78 cents, or 1.7 percent, to end at $44.60 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the lowest since Sept. 28. The European benchmark crude closed at a premium of $3.39 to WTI, the widest since Oct. 8.

The U.S. oil rig count slid by 1 this week to 594, adding to the 80 sidelined in the previous seven weeks and extending a five-year low.

Crude also fell as the dollar strengthened, reducing oil's investment appeal.

U.S. crude stockpiles rose for a fourth week to 476.6 million barrels and were just 3 percent lower than their highest level in at least three decades in April, while production remained unchanged at 9.1 million barrels a day. Supplies at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for WTI futures and the biggest U.S. oil-storage hub, fell by 78,000 barrels, the first drop in three weeks.