Oil settles lower as dollar climbs off four-week low

Oil futures tilted lower in American trade as the dollar index rose off September 27 lows, after Saudi oil minister Khalid Al Falih asserted the kingdom has no plans to ever impose an oil embargo similar to the one made in 1973. 

As of 04:58 GMT, US crude futures due in November fell 0.29% to $68.92 a barrel, marking September 14 lows. 

Brent December futures barely inched down 0.03% to $79.76 a barrel, while the dollar index rose 0.31% to 96.01 away from four-week lows. 

Earlier today, Saudi oil minister Khalid Al Falih asserted Saudi Arabia is a "responsible" country that uses its oil policy for merely economic considerations that's separate from politics. 

Falih noted that higher oil prices hurt economic growth and lead to global recession, adding that Saudi Arabia intends to raise output to 11 million bpd soon enough, with ability to increase production to 12 bpd if needed.

Otherwise, Iraqi oil minister Jabbar Alluaibi stated that his country plans to increase output to seven million bpd on path to export 4 million bpd by 2019. 

US Oil Rig Count 

Baker Hughes, a US services company, recently reported an increase of 4 in the oil rig count to 873 rigs, second such weekly increase in a row. 

US output fell 300 thousand bpd last week to 10.9 million bpd due to temporary shutdowns of oil rigs in response to Hurricane Michael.