Oil falls under pressure, US crude drops 1.5%

Oil prices fell on Friday, as the US dollar rose against peers, amid risk aversion.

The US dollar is being lifted by the rising US Treasury yields, which weighs down on the prices of dollar-denominated commodities.

The US Energy Information Administration reported on Wednesday that crude inventories rose 1.3 million barrels to 463 million barrels during the past week, worse than forecasts of a drop by 6 million barrels.

The dollar index rose against a basket of currencies by 0.4% to 90.5 points as of 16:15 GMT, after it hit a high of 90.7 points and a low of 90.1 points.

As of 17:19 GMT, WTI crude March futures fell 1.5% to $62.5 a barrel, after hitting a day high of $63.5 and a low of $61.7.

Brent April futures fell 0.9% to $66.2 a barrel, after hitting a high of $66.9 and a low of $65.7.