Oil Stock Markets
Stronger dollar makes oil more expensive for some buyers
Dollar outweighs API report of lower U.S. crude inventories (Adds ANZ comment on OPEC cuts, updates prices)
Oil prices fell on Thursday, pulled down as a firmer dollar outweighed a report of a decrease in U.S. crude inventories.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $61.15 a barrel at 0640 GMT, down 53 cents, or 0.9 percent, from their last settlement.
Brent crude futures fell 42 cents, or 0.6 percent, from their last close to $65 per barrel.
The dollar rose to a one-week high against a basket of major currencies on Thursday, after minutes of the Federal Reserve's January meeting showed policymakers were more confident of the need to keep raising interest rates.
Since oil trading is conducted in dollars, a rise in the greenback makes fuel imports for countries using other currencies domestically more expensive, potentially curbing demand.
The firm dollar outweighed a reported fall in U.S. crude inventories.
The American Petroleum Institute on Wednesday reported an unexpected drop in U.S. crude oil inventories by 907,000 barrels to 420.3 million barrels for the week to Feb. 16.
Despite Thursday's falls, analysts said oil markets were generally well supported due to demand-growth coinciding with production restraint led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and Russia.
Dollar outweighs API report of lower U.S. crude inventories (Adds ANZ comment on OPEC cuts, updates prices)
Oil prices fell on Thursday, pulled down as a firmer dollar outweighed a report of a decrease in U.S. crude inventories.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $61.15 a barrel at 0640 GMT, down 53 cents, or 0.9 percent, from their last settlement.
Brent crude futures fell 42 cents, or 0.6 percent, from their last close to $65 per barrel.
The dollar rose to a one-week high against a basket of major currencies on Thursday, after minutes of the Federal Reserve's January meeting showed policymakers were more confident of the need to keep raising interest rates.
Since oil trading is conducted in dollars, a rise in the greenback makes fuel imports for countries using other currencies domestically more expensive, potentially curbing demand.
The firm dollar outweighed a reported fall in U.S. crude inventories.
The American Petroleum Institute on Wednesday reported an unexpected drop in U.S. crude oil inventories by 907,000 barrels to 420.3 million barrels for the week to Feb. 16.
Despite Thursday's falls, analysts said oil markets were generally well supported due to demand-growth coinciding with production restraint led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and Russia.
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