Oil rises as dollar declines; Brent crosses $86

Oil drilling rigs

Oil prices rose in early session today, March 21, as the dollar declined after the US Federal Reserve indicated the possibility of cutting interest rates three times this year, following its decision to hold interest rates unchanged at the meeting that ended on March 20.

Brent crude rose 0.61%, or 52 cents, to $86.47 a barrel, at 10:17 am Makkah time, after recording the largest decline in a month during the previous session.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained 0.53%, or 44 cents, to $81.71 a barrel.

US crude inventories continued to decline for the second week in a row, falling by 1.95 million barrels in the week ended March 15, according to Energy Information Administration data.

ANZ Research analysts said in a note that the market remains cautious about ongoing supply-side issues, noting that the Ukrainian drone attacks have drained 12% of Russia's total oil processing capacity and are likely to lead to a tightening as OPEC+ cuts continue.