Oil drops after reaching 7-year record

Oil prices slipped back on Thursday after hitting their highest levels since 2014 in the previous session.

Brent's March futures dropped 0.1%, to $88.35 a barrel on Thursday morning. The global benchmark touched $89 a barrel in the last session, its highest since October 2014.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gave up 0.02%, to stand at $85.79 a barrel.

Analysts expect the oil market to remain strained amid improving prospects for oil demand and limited supply in the foreseeable future.

Investors are assessing data from the American Petroleum Institute (API) regarding an increase of 1.4 million barrels in US oil inventories for the week ended January 14, against the expected decline of almost 1.4 million.