NEW YORK: US crude futures extended losses to more than 6 percent and fell more than $ 3 a barrel on Thursday in the last hour of trading ahead of settlement.

Ample global supply and increasing U.S. commercial inventories weighed on prices after expectations for better demand going forward lifted prices on Wednesday, traders and analysts said.

U.S. April crude was down $ 2.71, or 5.3 percent at $ 48.28 a barrel at 2:25 p.m. EST (1925 GMT), having slumped as low as $ 47.80.