Oil Prices Under Pressure From A Strong Dollar

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures are edging lower on Friday, putting the market in a position to finish the week with a loss. The usual supply and demand factors may have taken a back seat this week to the U.S. Dollar, which continued to firm on expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will speed up the pace of its interest rate hikes in an effort to tame inflation. Crude oil bulls are also grappling with the possibility the Biden administration might release oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve to cool prices. Meanwhile,…