Oil prices continued to fall Friday as the U.S. dollar jumped amid rate hike fears, which made the dollar-denominated oil less attractive for holders of other currencies.
U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said at Harvard University Friday that an interest rate hike would probably be appropriate in the next few months. The U.S. dollar surged on Yellen's remarks.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, was up 0.60 percent at 95.738 in late New York trading Friday. Meanwhile, the number of rigs operating in U.S. fields fell by two to 316 this week, said oilfield services company Baker Hughes Friday.
At this time last year, drillers had 646 oil rigs online. The West Texas Intermediate for July delivery dipped 15 cents to settle at 49.33 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for July delivery decreased 27 cents to close at 49.32 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
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