22.02.201803:14:00UTC+00Oil Prices Weighed Down by Former Greenback

Oil prices declined on Thursday, affected by the stronger U.S. dollar that overshadowed a report of a decline in U.S. crude stockpiles.

U.S. WTI crude futures stood at $61.15 per barrel, falling 53 cents or 0.9 percent from their last close. Brent crude futures edged down 42 cents or 0.6 percent from their last settlement near $65 per barrel.

The greenback rallied to a one-week high versus a basket of major currencies after minutes of the Federal Reserve's January policy meeting indicated Fed officials were more confident of the need to keep lifting interest rates.

Given that oil trading is dollar-denominated, an increase in the greenback makes crude imports for nations using other currencies domestically more expensive, potentially curbing demand.

The strong dollar outweighed a reported decline in U.S. crude stockpiles.

The American Petroleum Institute reported a surprising decline U.S. crude stockpiles by 907, 000 barrels to 420.3 million barrels for the week to February 16.

Despite the declines on Thursday, analysts said oil markets remains well supported due to demand-growth along with production restraint by OPEC and Russia.