Investing.com - Oil prices moved lower in U.S. trading on Thursday on expectations for the Federal Reserve to close stimulus programs next month and raise interest rates next year, which would open the door to a stronger dollar.
A firmer greenback makes oil less attractive on dollar-denominated exchanges, especially in the eyes of investors holding other currencies.
In the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil for delivery in November traded down 1.41% at $91.89 a barrel during U.S. trading. New York-traded oil futures hit a session low of $91.84 a barrel and a high of $93.59 a barrel.
The November contract settled down 0.65% at $93.20 a barrel on Tuesday.
Nymex oil futures were likely to find support at $89.76 a barrel, Monday's low, and resistance at $94.12 a barrel, Tuesday's high.
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday said that it will likely close its monthly bond-buying program in October and suggested it will raise interest rates in 2015.
While some time will pass when the bond-buying program closes and rates begin to rise, investors concluded that borrowing costs are set to climb in 2015 regardless, which should open the door to a gradual strengthening trend for the dollar.
Wednesday's bearish U.S. storage data added to the selloff.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report on Wednesday that U.S. crude oil inventories increased by 3.7 million barrels in the week ended Sept. 12, confounding expectations for a decline of 1.7 million barrels, which stoked fears of a supply glut.
Total U.S. crude oil inventories stood at 362.3 million barrels as of last week.
The report also showed that total motor gasoline inventories decreased by 1.6 million barrels, compared to forecasts for a decline of 0.3 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles rose by 0.3 million barrels.
Separately, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil futures for November delivery were down 1.32% at US$97.67 a barrel, while the spread between Brent and U.S. crude contracts stood at US$5.78 a barrel.