NEW YORK, June 29 (Xinhua) -- Oil prices dropped on Wednesday, snapping a three-day winning streak.
The West Texas Intermediate for August delivery lost 1.98 U.S. dollars, or 1.8 percent, to settle at 109.78 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for August delivery decreased 1.72 dollars, or 1.5 percent, to close at 116.26 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
The slide came amid a marked appreciation in the U.S. dollar. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, jumped 0.58 percent to 105.1060 in late trading on Wednesday, following a 0.54-percent rise in the prior session. Historically, the price of oil is inversely related to the price of the U.S. dollar.
Worries over slowing global growth and the potential impact on fuel demand continue to weigh on the market.
Meanwhile, oil prices found some support after data showed a drop in U.S. crude stockpiles.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said Wednesday that the nation's crude oil inventories decreased by 2.8 million barrels during the week ending June 24. Analysts polled by S&P Global Commodity Insights had forecast a fall of 500,000 barrels.
