Shafaq News/ Oil prices retreated on Thursday as concerns over expectations of weak demand persisted, after posting big gains in the previous session following a surprise drop in U.S. crude inventories.

Brent crude futures were down 17 cents, or 0.3 percent, at U.S. dollars 61 a barrel by 0620 GMT. World crude oil rose 2.5 percent on Wednesday to settle at U.S. dollars 61.17 a barrel, levels not seen since September 30.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 32 cents, or 0.6 percent, at U.S. dollars 55.65 a barrel. U.S. crude ended the previous session up 3.3 percent.

“Oil prices are likely to remain subdued in the near term as the global economy continues to slow and risk aversion prevails,” Caroline Bean, chief commodities economist at Capital Economics, said in a note.

U.S. crude oil inventories fell 1.7 million barrels in the week to October 8, compared with analysts' expectations of a 2.2 million barrel increase, data from the US Energy Information Administration showed.

The decline in weekly inventories came as refiners increased crude consumption and oil imports fell, causing a jump for both benchmarks on Wednesday, the administration said.