Oils slips as dollar reaches 24year high on inflation worries

Oil prices slipped for a third straight session on Wednesday as the dollar gained steam and investors braced for US inflation data, while global recession risks and tightening Covid- 19 curbs in China triggered worries about fuel demand.

Brent crude futures fell 46c, or 0.5percent, to $ 93.83 a barrel by 4.10am GMT. US West Texas Intermediate ( WTI) crude was at $ 88.81 a barrel, down 54c, or 0.6percent.

Both benchmarks fell 2 percent in the previous session. The greenback rose to a fresh 24- year high against the yen on Wednesday on concerns about inflation and the pace of US rate hikes. A stronger dollar makes dollardenominated commodities more expensive for holders of other currencies and tends to weigh on oil and other risk assets. “Despite fundamentals auguring higher for oil and a rather hefty production cut [ by Opec], any breakdown in risk assets may continue to hurt oil prices until some semblance of bottom forms in risk assets,” Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, said in a note.