SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Oil prices fell on Monday, after the U.S. dollar jumped to a three-week high and the U.S. rig count rose.
Brent crude futures fell 60 cents to $74.74 a barrel at 0631 GMT, after losing 33 cents on Friday.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures dropped by 69 cents to $71.28 per barrel, after declining by 64 cents on Friday.
“Strength in the USD over the last couple of days had provided some headwinds to the market,” Reuters quoted researchers at ING Bank as saying.
Oil fell with the greenback near a three-week high following a rally on Friday on better-than-expected U.S. retail sales data, Reuters reported. That bolstered expectations the U.S. Federal Reserve will begin reducing asset purchases later this year.
“WTI crude may consolidate over the next few trading sessions until the trajectory of the dollar is a little clearer,” OANDA analyst Edward Moya said in a note, according to Reuters.
A rise in the U.S. rig count also kept a lid on oil prices. The oil and gas rig count rose by nine to 512 in the week to Sept. 17, its highest since April 2020, Reuters cited Baker Hughes as saying on Friday.
