Oil falls on COVID-19-induced demand worries, stronger dollar | Reuters

Oil falls on COVID-19-induced demand worries, stronger dollar | Reuters

Oil fell on Thursday on fresh fuel demand worries because of travel curbs to prevent new coronavirus outbreaks and delays with vaccines and a stronger U.S. dollar weighed on prices.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 36 cents, or 0.7%, to $52.49 a barrel at 0738 GMT, erasing Wednesday’s gain.

Brent crude futures fell 46 cents, or 0.8%, to $55.35 a barrel, after losing 10 cents on Wednesday.

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against other major currencies, rose to 90.753 from a January low of 89.206. Buyers using other currencies must pay more for dollar-denominated oil when the greenback rises.

The oil market had been supported earlier this week by a surprisingly large decline in U.S. crude stockpiles in the week to Jan. 22, which analysts said was due to a pick up in U.S. crude exports and a drop in imports.