Oil fell back towards a seven-year low on Wednesday as more evidence of swelling global supplies weighed on the market and as the US Congress agreed a deal that could see restrictions on exports lifted. Global benchmark Brent crude fell as much as $1.34 to $37.11 a barrel in afternoon trading. US marker West Texas Intermediate lost $1.60 to $35.75 a barrel, a level last reached in February 2009. The US energy department said that crude inventories had increased by 4.8m barrels to 491m last week, even as analysts had expected a draw of 1.4m. Stockpiles of gasoline and distillates, such as diesel, grew as well over the same period. Stocks of crude at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub rose by 607,000 barrels to 60.1m barrels, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) data showed. It is about 2m barrels off its record high. The EIA figures were higher than those from American Petroleum Institute, an industry body. These showed an increase of 2.3m barrels in US crude stockpiles last week. Oil prices came within cents of the December 2008 bottom of $36.20 a barrel earlier this week as traders saw no end to a persistent oil glut that is expected to build throughout next year.