Crude oil futures ended deeply in red on Monday as the U.S. dollar strengthened. The U.S. dollar has been strengthening alongside interest rate hikes, making dollar-denominated oil more expensive for holders of other currencies. The dollar index gained around 0.5% on Monday. Further, weakness also prevailed in oil prices on concerns about the outlook for energy demand due to a potential recession in the U.S. later this year. Meanwhile, a report from the Energy Information Administration showed U.S. shale crude production in the seven biggest shale basins in the country is expected to rise by 49,000 barrels per day in May to 9.33 million barrels per day.
Benchmark crude oil futures for May delivery fell $1.69 or 2.1 percent to settle at $80.83 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for June delivery dropped $1.55 or 1.8 percent to settle at $84.76 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.