Oil prices declined on Monday, fueled by the rising value of the US dollar that is discouraging investors from more expensive, dollar-based oil trading.
International benchmark Brent crude was trading at $74.66 per barrel at 0736 GMT for a 0.90% decrease after closing Friday at $75.34 a barrel.
American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was at $70.95 per barrel at the same time for a 1.21% fall after it ended the previous session at $71.82 a barrel.
Oil prices started the week on a bearish sentiment from the rising value of the US dollar, which had seen three-week record highs to make dollar-indexed crude more expensive for buyers.
The US dollar index, which measures the value of the American dollar against a basket of currencies, including the Japanese yen, British pound, Canadian dollar, Swedish krona and Swiss franc, rose 0.15% to 93.33.
Prices also fell with an increase in the number of oil drilling rigs in the US, signaling an increase in production.
According to the weekly data released by oilfield services company Baker Hughes, the number of oil rigs; an indicator of short-term production in the country, increased by 10 to 411 for the week ending Sept. 17 from 401 the previous week.
However, since Hurricane Ida hit the southern region of the US and brought all oil production activities to a halt, production in the area is still not to operating at full capacity, limiting further price declines.
According to the US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, 23.19% of the current oil production and 34.43% of natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico have been shut in.
By Sibel Morrow
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr