Crude oil prices fell on Monday on expectations of higher supplies and weakening demand.

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US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 0.7 percent, to $80.21 a barrel, while Brent crude futures declined 0.7 percent, to $81.59 a barrel, as of 0151 GMT.

Prices of oil have fallen for the last three weeks due to the strengthening dollar and speculation that President Joe Biden's administration might release oil from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve to cool prices.

"The White House has been debating how to tackle higher inflation, with some officials calling for the strategic reserve to be tapped, or halting U.S. exports," Reuters reported quoting ANZ analysts.

US energy firms this week added oil and natural gas rigs for a third week in a row with crude prices hovering near a seven-year high, prompting some drillers to return to the wellpad.

The oil and gas rig count, an early indicator of future output, rose by six to 556 in the week to Nov. 12, its highest level since April 2020, energy services firm Baker Hughes Co said on Friday.

Meanwhile, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) last week cut its world oil demand forecast for the fourth quarter by 330,000 barrels per day (bpd) from last month's forecast, as high energy prices hampered economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Russia's Rosneft, the world's second-biggest oil company by output after Saudi Aramco, warned on Friday of a potential "super cycle" in global energy markets, raising the prospect of even higher prices as demand outstrips supply.

-With agency inputs

First Published:Nov 15, 2021 8:28 AM IST