By MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Crude-oil futures fell back below $74 a barrel Thursday as the dollar gained and as rising U.S. inventories underscored market expectations that demand remains weak.
Benchmark crude for November delivery sank 84 cents to stand at $73.87 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The contract on Wednesday fell 26 cents to end at $74.71, pulling back after the Energy Information Administration reported crude inventories rose by 1 million barrels last week. The data ran counter to the expectations of analysts calling for a decline of 1.5 million barrels on the week, according to Platts, the energy information unit of McGraw-Hill.
Meanwhile, a stronger greenback also helped dent crude by making the dollar-denominated commodity more costly for holders of other currencies.
The dollar index (DXY 80.07, +0.24, +0.29%) was up 0.3% at 80.102.
