Oil Rises 3% After a Week of Losses Thanks to The Decline in USD

Oil prices jumped more than 3% Monday, August 23, after a seven-day losing streak driven by a weaker dollar, despite demand concerns fueled by an increase in cases of the mutated delta strain of the coronavirus.

Brent crude rose $2.17, or 3.2%, to $67.35 a barrel by 09:01 GMT, after falling to $64.60 during the session, its lowest level since May 21.

And US crude futures for October delivery rose $2.11, or 3.3%, to $64.25 a barrel, and it had reached $61.74 a barrel, which is also the lowest level since May 21.

Both benchmarks recorded the largest weekly loss in more than nine months last week. Brent fell about 8% and US crude fell by about 9%.

As the cases rate of the Coronavirus rises, more countries are imposing new travel restrictions.

And services company Baker Hughes said that US production rose to 11.4 million barrels per day in the last week and that energy companies added oil rigs for the third week in a row.

However, the decline in the US dollar provided some support, which made crude oil less expensive for holders of other currencies.

The dollar index, which measures its performance against six currencies, recorded 93.349, down slightly from 93.734, its highest level in more than nine months, which it reached on Friday.