Oil fell this morning, following a sharp rise in the dollar, steering prices toward a second consecutive weekly fall against a backdrop of rising U.S. crude production and inventories, Reuters reports.
Brent crude futures fell 47 cents to $63.87 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 40 cents to $60.75 a barrel. Brent was on track for a drop of around 0.7% this week, after last week’s 4.4% slide.
A build-up in U.S. crude inventory reported Wednesday was not as large as expected, given that stocks tend to rise towards the end of the winter as refineries conduct maintenance. But with the threat of the U.S. sparking a trade war with some of its largest partners, financial markets were on edge. Prices of commodities stayed under pressure.
“Despite the global economy humming, we see fragility in the oil market,” says Julius Baer head of commodities and macro research Norbert Ruecker, adding that rising inventories would put pressure on oil prices in the short term.
