Oil settles higher, dollar powers up for first time in three sessions

Oil futures rose in American trade, with US crude climbing off June 22 lows, while Brent rebounded from April 17 lows, even as the dollar index marked solid gains for the day, following earlier data and developments from the US, the world's largest energy consumer. 

As of 05:40 GMT, US crude futures due on August 15 rose 0.37% to $68.31 a barrel from the opening of $68.06, rebounding from three-week lows. 

Brent futures due on September 15 rose 0.75% to $72.38 a barrel from the opening of $71.84, while the dollar index added 0.51% to 94.99 from the opening of 94.51. 

US Industrial Data 

Earlier US data showed industrial production rose 0.6% in June, compared to a 0.5% dip in May, while analysts expected a 0.5% increase. 

The Capacity Utilization Rate rose to 78.0% in June from 77.7%, missing expectations of 78.4%. 

Powell Testifies 

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell presented the first half of his Congressional testimony before the Senate Banking Committee, where he expressed his belief that the job market will remain strong, while asserting that stress tests are important tools in gauging the strength of banks, with the Fed seeking to make the tests more transparent.

Powell warned that trade tariffs could hurt the economy in the long term, while tax cuts and government spending will serve to support growth and jobs. 

Finally, Powell believes that gradual rate hikes are the only method of maintaining economic recovery, adding that the goal now for the Federal Reserve it to bring the monetary policy back to normal pre-crisis levels. 

Powell will present the second half before the House Financial Services Committee tomorrow, with investors looking for clues on future monetary policies and interest rate hikes this year. 

Trump Looks to Cut Prices, Global Output Increases 

Concerns over supply shortages were alleviated recently, with Libyan production returning back online, while Saudi Arabia is reportedly sending additional shipments to Asian and the US. 

Reports also came out of US President Donald Trump's consideration to use emergency oil supplies in the US to cut prices, weighing heavily on oil futures today, with US crude slumping below $70 to June 26 lows, while Brent plumbed April 18 lows. 

US Oil Rig Count 

Baker Hughes reported no change in the US oil rig count last week at 863 rigs, already the highest since March 2015. 

US production has jumped 29% from mid-2016 levels to a total of 10.9 million bpd, a record high, passing Saudi Arabia's 10.7 million bpd, and nearing Russia's 11.1 million bpd.