Oil prices fell today, Thursday, with the rise of the dollar, at a time when investors are following developments related to the reduction of Kurdistan region’s oil exports.

Brent crude futures fell 33 cents, or 0.42%, to $77.95 a barrel at 04:19 GMT, and West Texas Intermediate crude fell 22 cents, or 0.30%, to $72.75 a barrel.

The dollar index, which trades inversely to oil, was up 0.11% on Thursday at 102.75.

Companies data showed that producers have shut down or reduced production at several oil fields in the Kurdistan region after the northern export pipeline stopped, with more outages on the horizon.

“Changes in Iraq’s internal politics may lead to a permanent political settlement very soon,” Citi analysts said, estimating that pipeline flows could grow by about 200,000 barrels per day.

Meanwhile, an unexpected drop in US crude oil inventories capped the price decline, with imports falling to a two-year low, according to the US Energy Information Administration./End

Source: National Iraqi News Agency