Oil Prices

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(Reuters) - U.S. crude futures fell on Wednesday as rising crude oil inventories in the United States and the dollar's strength combined to pressure oil prices.

U.S. April crude futures fell $1.28, or 1.20 percent, to settle at $105.43 a barrel, having traded from $105.12 to $107.02.

Oil supplies showed a 200,000 barrel-per-day decline in February, according to Wednesday’s International Energy Agency (IEA) update. The IEA sees 2012 oil demand growth unchanged at a 0.9% increase in millions of barrels per day. It also noted that OPEC February output reached a post-2008 high, with Saudi Arabia producing 10 million barrels per day.

The Wall Street Journal quotes the IEA as saying,

“Exports of Iranian crude could ultimately be curtailed by around 800,000 to 1 million barrels a day from midyear onwards … Almost all of Iran’s buyers will inevitably scale back volumes in order to avoid falling foul of sanctions.”

The IEA said “concerns over the global economy provide a ceiling for prices” though volatility is the order of the day. Here’s insight on oil price volatility history, relative to the S&P 500 from the Chicago Board Options Exchange, which offers any number of ways to trade oil price dips and spikes.