WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Oil futures settled lower on Tuesday, coming off early highs, as a stronger dollar and forecasts that weather in the U.S. will be colder than normal weighed on oil prices.
Meteorologists have reportedly projected weather in the U.S. would switch from colder than normal this week to mostly warmer than normal during the later part of the month.
The dollar surged higher amid fading hopes about early interest rate cuts following some hawkish comments from central bank officials.
West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures ended down $0.28 at $72.40 a barrel.
Brent crude futures were trading slightly down $0.05 at $78.10 a barrel a little while ago.
Oil prices moved higher earlier in the day amid persisting concerns about likely disruptions in supply due to the attacks by the Houthi militants on vessels in the Red Sea. Houthi rebels fired a missile that struck a U.S.-owned ship Monday just off the coast of Yemen in the Gulf of Aden.
Meanwhile, Israel's military has ended its 'intensive' phase of operations in northern Gaza and will soon do the same in southern Gaza, the country's defense minister has said.
Weekly inventory data from the American Petroleum Institute (API) and U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) will be out on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, a day later than usual due to the U.S. market holiday on Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
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