Oil declines after recording strongest gains in two weeks

Oil drilling rigs

Oil prices edged lower today, May 18, after strong gains in the previous session, as dollar gained strength and investors assessed crude supplies in the United States.

International benchmark Brent crude was trading down 0.30% at $76.73 a barrel, at 07:56 am Makkah time.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 0.35% to $72.59 a barrel.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which measures its value against a basket of major currencies, settled at 102.92 points, after reaching its highest level in six weeks on May 17 at 103.11 points In yesterday's trading, oil prices rose strongly, with Brent increasing by 2.7% and WTI crude up by 2.8%, after concerns about the US government debt ceiling crisis subsided.

This 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 tighter US monetary policy and the disappointing recovery of the Chinese economy.

The data from the Energy Information Administration revealed that oil inventories in the US increased by 5 million barrels last week, while gasoline and distillate inventories decreased by 1.4 million barrels and 100,000 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.