Singapore, March 23 (BNA): Oil prices fell today, Thursday, after three sessions of gains, after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell highlighted credit risks in the banking sector of the world’s largest economy, while US crude stocks rose more than expected.
Brent crude futures fell 66 cents, or 0.9%, to $76.03 a barrel by 0420 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude fell 74 cents, or 1.0%, to $70.16, Reuters reported.
On Wednesday, the two benchmarks for benchmark crude settled at their highest close since March 14, after the dollar fell to a six-week low.
“Economic risks were identified at the Fed meeting, while higher-than-expected US crude oil inventories also dampened some optimism about the demand outlook,” said Yeap Jun Rong, market strategist at IG.
Still, the dollar’s weakness was a bright spot in helping to prompt some resilience in oil prices, while leaving some room for a rally in oil prices amid the sell-off seen at the start of this week, Yeap added.
MI