Crude oil prices fell on Thursday as the US dollar strengthened following signs that the Federal Reserve will tighten monetary policy soon in the world’s biggest oil user.
Futures pulled back amid a broader decline in financial markets after the Fed telegraphed a March interest rate increase and as the dollar climbed against its major peers. Dollar-denominated oil becomes more expensive for buyers using other currencies when the greenback gains.
Brent crude futures were down 31 cents, or 0.6%, to $89.44 a barrel at 0720 GMT, after earlier falling by as much as 1.1% to $89. Brent climbed 2% on Wednesday.
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 58 cents, or 0.6%, to $86.77 a barrel, after falling by as much as 1.2% to $86.34. WTI gained 2% in the previous session.
“It could be a strong US dollar at play after the Federal Open Markets Committee signalled rates will rise,” said Commonwealth Bank analyst Vivek Dhar.
The dollar rose on higher US Treasury yields, lifting the US dollar index, which measures the greenback against major peers, to 96.604, near five-week highs.
Crude prices surged on Wednesday, with Brent climbing to $90 a barrel for the first time in seven years, amid tensions between Ukraine and Russia, the world’s second-largest oil producer, that have fanned fears of energy supply disruptions to Europe.
Commonwealth Bank’s Dhar echoed those concerns, while noting that efforts by OPEC and its allies, known as OPEC+, to boost supply also were not materialising and that demand has not been hit as badly by the rapid spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant as earlier feared.
OPEC missed its planned supply increase target in December, highlighting capacity constraints that are limiting supply as global demand recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic.
OPEC+ is gradually relaxing 2020’s output cuts as demand recovers from the demand collapse that year. But many smaller producers can’t raise supply and others have been wary of pumping too much in case of renewed COVID-19 setbacks.
“Continued supply challenges and mounting Russia-Ukraine tensions continue to support crude oil prices. It is down slightly today but I think it is nothing more than a technical move,” said Howie Lee, an economist at OCBC in Singapore.
Still, an increase in crude oil and gasoline inventories in the United States alleviated some of the concerns about supply.
Crude inventories rose by 2.4 million barrels in the week to Jan. 21 to 416.2 million barrels, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 728,000-barrel drop, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday. read more
Gasoline stockpiles rose by 1.3 million barrels last week to 247.9 million barrels, the EIA said, the most since February 2021.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
