Crude Oil Erases OPEC+ Gains As Dollar Rises, Rate Hike Looms

Crude oil prices continued to decline on Wednesday, failing to gain any purchase from a significant drop in U.S. crude inventories and instead driven by the fears of another interest rate hike and a climbing dollar. At 5.22 p.m. EST on Wednesday, Brent crude was down 1.95% to $83.12 per barrel, for a $1.65 loss on the day, while WTI was 2.10% at $79.16 per barrel, for a $1.70 loss on the day. Earlier in the day, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported an inventory draw of 4.6 million barrels for the week to April 14, compared…