Reuters -- Oil prices fell on Thursday after three sessions of gains, after U.S. Federal ReserveFederal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reiterated his commitment to curbing inflation, including the possibility of more interest rate rises.
Brent crude futures fell 80 cents, or 1%, to $75.89 a barrel by 00: 09 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude WTI dropped 84 cents, or 1.2%, to $70.06.
Both crude benchmarks had settled on Wednesday at their highest level since March 14, reaching their highest level since March 14.
On Wednesday, Powell said that banking industry stress could lead to a credit crunch with significant implications for an economy that U.S. central bank officials projected would slow down even more this year than previously thought.
On Wednesday, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told lawmakers that she has not considered or discussed blanket insurance to U.S. banking deposits without the approval of Congress as a way to stem the turmoil caused by two major bank failures this month.
The bank crises caused volatile trade in riskier assets like oil over the last week as investors waited for the Fed's decision on rate hikes on Wednesday.
The central bank's policy-setting committee raised interest rates by another quarter of a percentage point, lifting its benchmark interest rate to the 4.75% to 5.00% range.
It recast its outlook from a hawkish preoccupation with inflation to a more cautious approach to account for changes in bank behavior that might have the equivalent impact on the Fed's rate hikes.