NEW YORK, Sept 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Oil prices fell yesterday, amid strength in the U.S. dollar.
The West Texas Intermediate for Oct delivery lost 2.94 U.S. dollars, or 3.3 percent, to settle at 86.61 dollars a barrel, on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for Nov delivery decreased 3.28 dollars, or 3.4 percent, to close at 92.36 dollars a barrel, on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
Fears that a slowing global economy would dampen fuel demand, continued to weigh on the market. A marked rise in the U.S. dollar also presented a headwind. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, surged 0.92 percent to 109.6930 in late trading yesterday. Historically, the price of oil is inversely related to the price of the U.S. dollar.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration, reported Wednesday that, the nation’s crude oil inventories decreased by 3.3 million barrels during the week ending Aug 26. Analysts surveyed by S&P Global Commodity Insights expected a fall of 1.9 million barrels in U.S. crude supplies.
