U.S. crude stockpiles build for fifth straight week
Elevated interest rates also weigh on prices
Market eyes potential OPEC output cut extension

SINGAPORE, Feb 29 Reuters Oil prices fell on Thursday after a largerthanexpected build in U.S. crude stockpiles stoked worries about slow demand, while signs that U.S. interest rates could remain elevated added to pressure.

Brent crude futures for April fell 43 cents, or 0.5, to 83.25 a barrel by 0830 GMT, after rising 3 cents in the previous session. The April contract expires on Thursday and the more active May contract was down 33 cents at 81.82.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down 26 cents, or 0.3, to 78.28 a barrel.

Brent is set to end the month up at nearly 2, its second monthly gain, while WTI is also set to rise for a second month, gaining about 3 in February.

U.S. crude oil stockpiles rose while gasoline and distillate inventories fell last week as refiners ran at below seasonal lows due to planned and unplanned outages, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.

Crude inventories rose for the fifth consecutive week, increasing by 4.2 million barrels to 447.2 million barrels in the week ended Feb. 23, the EIA said, compared with analysts39; expectations in a Reuters poll for a 2.7 millionbarrel rise.

Large stockpiles heightened investors39; worries over a slow economy and reduced oil demand in the U.S., said Satoru Yoshida, a commodity analyst with Rakuten Securities.

The…