Oil loses ground, dollar slides as well

Oil futures fell in American trade while the dollar index also lost ground, following minor data from the US, the world's largest energy consumer, and after remarks by Russian energy minister Alexander Novak on Iran. 

As of 05:01 GMT, US crude futures due in October fell 0.57% to $68.60 a barrel, while Brent November futures slipped 0.29% to $77.86 a barrel.

The dollar index dropped 0.46% against a basket of major rivals to 94.49. 

From the US, the Empire State Manufacturing Index receded to 19 in September from 25.6, missing estimates of 23.2.

Otherwise, Russian energy minister Alexander Novak said in earlier remarks that Iran enjoys a strong position in the world energy market, adding it's a mistake to impose sanctions on that Iranian oil sector because of how connected it is to many countries. 

IEA Releases Monthly Report 

Last week, the International Energy Agency reported that risks for demand outlook in 2019 are still ongoing, such as weakness in emerging economies due to currency and trade issues, however the impact remains limited, with expectations prices will surpass $80 a barrel if producers didn't ramp up production to compensate drops in Iranian and Venezuelan output. 

The EIA expects global demand in the current quarter at 100.3 million bpd, before receding by a million bpd in 2019, while reporting that supplies reached a record 100 million bpd last month. 

OPEC took the lion share as usual at 32.62 million bpd, the highest in nine months despite cuts in Iranian and Venezuelan production, while US output slipped 100 thousand bpd to 10.9 million bpd. 

US Oil Rig Count 

Baker Hughes, a US oil services company, reported an increase of 7 rigs in the oil rig count to a total of 867 rigs.