Oil prices fall as Fed raises interest rates

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Oil prices fall as Fed raises interest rates

Reuters -- Oil prices fell in early Asian trade after the U.S. Federal ReserveFederal Reserve raised interest rates significantly to curb inflation, despite fears that the global economy will be negatively affected by future fuel demand.

The price of crude fell 16 cents, or 0.2%, to $89.67 per barrel by 0013 GMT, while the U.S. West Texas Intermediate WTI crude fell 15 cents to $82.79 per barrel.

The Fed raised its target interest rate by 75 basis points for the third time on Wednesday to a 3.00 -- 3.25% range, signalling more large increases to come. The risk assets like stocks fell along with oil, while the dollar climbed to a 20 year high against a basket of other currencies, making crude more expensive for buyers not using the dollar.

In the past four weeks, U.S. gasoline demand fell to 8.5 million barrels per day bpd, its lowest since February, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. German gas importer Uniper said on Wednesday and Britain said it would halve energy bills for businesses in response to a deepening supply crisis that exposed Europe's reliance on Russian fuel.