LONDON—Oil prices fell to their lowest in about three weeks on Thursday, depressed by a firmer dollar and rate hike expectations which outweighed lower U.S. crude stocks.
Brent crude futures were down $1.12, or 1.4 percent, to trade at $82.00 a barrel at 0819 GMT. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) futures dropped $1.02, or 1.3 percent, to $78.14 a barrel.
Both benchmarks, following a 2 percent fall on Wednesday, are at their lowest since late March, just before a surprise OPEC+ production cut announcement, although not all gains from that move have been wiped out yet.
The U.S. dollar index has moved up around 0.3 percent this week so far, on course for its strongest week since late February. A strengthening greenback makes oil more expensive for holders of other currencies….