Oil prices fell on Monday amid rising number of U.S. oil rigs and a stronger U.S. dollar. Oilfield services company Baker Hughes said Friday that the number of rigs operating in U.S. fields rose by 10 to 351 in the week ending July 8, notching a fifth straight weekly gain. At the same time last year, drillers had 645 oil rigs online.
Analysts said that the rigs data signaled that the oil output decline may slow. Moreover, oil prices were under pressure as a stronger U.S. dollar dented investor sentiment, which made the dollar-denominated oil less attractive for holders of other currencies.
The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against six major peers, was up 0.25 percent at 96.538 in late trading on Monday.
The West Texas Intermediate for August delivery lost 0.65 U.S. dollars to settle at 44.76 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for September delivery decreased 0.51 U.S. dollars to close at 46.25 U.S. dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
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