LONDON: Brent crude oil fell by more than a dollar to around US$85 a barrel yesterday as a firmer dollar and a well supplied oil market pushed the benchmark towards its steepest monthly decline since 2012.
The dollar rose to its highest level since June 2010 on Thursday after data showed the US economy grew 3.5 per cent in the third quarter, topping estimates for a three percent rise.
“It has not been a good month for commodity indices,” Olivier Jakob of Petromatrix told the Reuters Global Oil Forum, noting that gold as well as oil was under pressure from the dollar surge.
Brent for December was down US$1.20 at US$85.03 a barrel by 1440GMT. The oil benchmark has fallen more than 10 per cent so far in October, its biggest monthly drop since May 2012.
US crude was down 90 cents at US$80.22 a barrel, having lost 12 per cent this month, also its worst performance since May 2012. Reuters