Futures prices for Brent crude, the benchmark for July delivery, fell by 0.30% to $76.73 a barrel.
The value of US “NYMEX” crude futures for June delivery also decreased, by 0.35%, to $72.59 a barrel.
The dollar index – which measures its value against a basket of major currencies – settled at 102.92 points, after reaching its highest level in 6 weeks at 103.11 points on Wednesday, according to Bloomberg.
During yesterday’s trading, oil prices rose strongly, with “Brent” crude contracts increasing by 2.7% and “NYMEX” by 2.8%, after concerns about the US government debt ceiling crisis subsided.
This rise was the strongest gain for oil prices in nearly two weeks, but crude is still lower than it was at the beginning of the year, under pressure from tightening US monetary policy and the disappointing recovery of the Chinese economy.
And data from the Energy Information Administration revealed, on Wednesday, that oil inventories in the United States increased by 5 million barrels last week, while gasoline and distillate inventories decreased by 1.4 million barrels and 100 thousand barrels, respectively.
Separate data also showed that the country’s oil production averaged 12.2 million barrels per day, down by 100,000 barrels. However, exports rose by 1.434 million barrels to 4.310 million barrels per day.
