New York — Oil prices slipped on Wednesday, as a strengthening dollar overshadowed a US crude inventory report that showed domestic crude stocks falling more than expected.Brent crude futures were down 31 US cents at $77.43 a barrel by 3.17pm GMT, while US crude futures fell 30c to $71.01 a barrel.The dollar firmed to nearly a five-month high against a basket of other major currencies on Wednesday. A stronger greenback makes it more expensive to buy dollar-denominated commodities such as oil."The only reason why we’re not seeing higher prices from here today is the strength of the US dollar," said Tariq Zahir, managing member at Tyche Capital Advisors.US crude stocks fell last week as exports hit a new one-week record, while inventories of both petrol and distillates fell, the Energy Information Administration said.Crude inventories fell by 1.4-million barrels in the week to May 11, compared with analysts’ expectations for a decrease of 763,000 barrels."All in all, the report is bul...
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