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Oil prices fell noticeably on Monday after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) cut its outlook for growth in crude demand in 2022 and 2023.
The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for December delivery decreased by 3.09 U.S. dollars, or 3.5 percent, to settle at 85.87 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for January delivery lost 2.85 dollars, or 3 percent, to close at 93.14 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
In its closely-watched monthly report released Monday, the OPEC lowered 2022 global oil demand growth and further trimmed next year's figure, citing economic challenges and geopolitical uncertainties.
This year's demand growth is pegged at 2.55 million barrels per day (bpd), down 100,000 bpd from the previous forecast, the oil alliance said in the report. Growth for 2023 has also been revised down by 100,000 bpd as compared with its previous projection.
Oil prices were also weighed by a rebound in the U.S. dollar. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, increased 0.34 percent to 106.6590 in late trading on Monday. Historically, the oil price is inversely related to the price of the U.S. currency.
For the week ending Friday, the WTI declined 3.9 percent, while Brent fell 2.6 percent, based on the front-month contracts.
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