U.S. oil prices sank into a bear market Thursday as a global glut of crude shows little sign of abating. Prices had settled below the key $50-a-barrel mark for the first time since early April on Wednesday, and they kept falling for most of Thursday. An unexpected increase in U.S. crude inventories, announced earlier this week, combined with high production already coming from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, is raising concerns that the market is settling into a long period of oversupply. Light, sweet crude for September delivery settled down 74 cents, or 1.5%, at $48.45 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the lowest settlement since March 31. The U.S. benchmark has posted losses in 17 of the past 21 sessions. That skid has now dropped it into a bear market, down more than 21% from the 2015 high that it hit just a month […]