Crude oil futures remained under selling pressure on Monday as many experts thought that the correction was overdue. Crude oil futures contract for June delivery dropped 0.7 percent or $0.72 to $111.49 per barrel at New York Mercantile Exchange on Monday as compared to $113.48 per barrel on prior trading session.

Crude oil has gained 2.4 percent in the last week in reaction to reduced US credit rating which weakened the greenback. Moreover the oil inventories data and better US economic activity resulted in price appreciation for crude oil.

The US dollar exchange rate remained lower in today’s session too which provided some support to oil prices. The dollar index DXY which measures the US dollar’s performance against its major rival currencies declined to 74.069 on Monday as compared to 74.126 on Thursday late trading hours.

According to the latest data of US Commerce Department new home sales increased by 11.1 percent for the month March to 300,000 as compared to analysts’ expectations of 290,000.

Investors are also closely keeping an eye on the next move of US Federal Reserve as change in interest rate would also determine the direction of US dollar and oil prices. Falling greenback always benefits commodities as it result in lower rate of commodities making them attractive for investors with other currencies.

Europe’s Brent oil futures contract for June delivery also slipped 0.7 percent of $0.87 to $123.12 per barrel at London on Monday.

Tensions in Libya are also creating uncertainty among investors as analysts are now expecting a long civil war in the country.