Oil Under $49 To Mark Lowest Settlement Of The Month

Oil futures settled more than 3% lower on Tuesday to mark their lowest settlement of the month so far. A surge in the dollar pressured prices for West Texas Intermediate oil ahead of U.S. government data Wednesday that are expected to show a ninth straight weekly rise in crude supplies. April crude fell $1.71, or 3.4%, to settle at $48.29 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That was the lowest settlement since Feb. 26, based on the most-active contracts.