Oil drops with strong dollar muting impact of US power crisis
Oil fell as a stronger dollar offset the impact of a U.S. energy crisis that’s taken out around a third of the nation’s crude production.
Futures in New York dropped below $60 a barrel after settling up 1% on Tuesday from Friday’s close. A gauge of the dollar rose for a second day, reducing the appeal of commodities like oil that are priced in the currency.
Freezing temperatures have caused power cuts across the central U.S., halting 3.5 million barrels a day or more of output, according to traders and industry executives. That’s been offset, however, by the more than 3 million barrels a day of refining capacity that Energy Aspects Ltd. estimates has been idled.
