NEW YORK, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) -- Oil prices tumbled on Wednesday, with both crude benchmarks sliding over 2.5 U.S. dollars, as the market was rattled by an unexpected surge in U.S. inventories amid ongoing anxiety over ebbing global energy demand.

The West Texas Intermediate for September delivery plunged 2.54 U.S. dollars to settle at 51.09 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for October delivery fell 2.71 dollars to close at 56.23 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.

During the week ending August 2, U.S. commercial crude oil inventories increased by 2.4 million barrels from the previous week, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said Wednesday.

At 438.9 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories are about 2 percent above the five-year average for this time of year.

More specifically, U.S. crude oil imports averaged 7.1 million barrels per day (bpd) last week, marking a rally of 485,000 bpd from the previous week.

Investors also kept a close eye on the ongoing tensions between Iran and the United States, which has dampened investor sentiment and fueled concerns over weakening global energy demand.

A letter by Iran, which asks the United Nations for pushback against U.S. new sanctions, "is being circulated to the Security Council," a UN spokesman said Wednesday.

He added the UN chief calls on all parties to avoid any actions that would escalate an already very tense situation. Enditem

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