Oil prices fell Friday following the Christmas holiday amid thin trading volume.

U.S. crude markets were closed Thursday for the Christmas holiday.

Oil prices plunged Wednesday as a government report showed that U.S. crude supplies increased more than expected.

U.S. crude stockpiles added 7.3 million barrels to 387.2 million barrels of the week ended Dec. 19, the highest level since June, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said. The market was expected to see a 2.5-million-barrel decline.

Stockpiles at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for U.S. crude, gained 1 million barrels to 28.8 million barrels, it said. U.S. crude production decreased 10,000 barrels a day to 9.13 million barrels last week.

Traders believed that U.S. inventories are still at a pretty high level.

The markets were also closely watching the situation in Libya. Islamist militias attacked the country's largest petroleum port Es Sider, and several tanks were on fire, the state-run National Oil Corp. said Friday.

Light, sweet crude for February delivery lost 1.11 U.S. dollars to settle at 54.73 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for February delivery decreased 0.79 dollars to close at 59.45 dollars a barrel.

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