Crude oil prices fell on Monday, amid rising supply expectations and lower demand forecasts driven by rising energy costs.

Brent crude futures fell 45 cents, or 0.6%, to $81.72 a barrel as of 0604 GMT. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 36 cents, or 0.5%, to $80.43 a barrel.

Oil markets have tumbled for the past three weeks, fueled by a stronger dollar and speculation that the US administration may extract oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to cool prices.

The White House is debating how to deal with higher inflation, despite some officials’ demand support either from the strategic reserve or suggesting US exports get halted.

US energy firms increased their oil and gas rigs for the third week in a row this week, prompting some drillers to return to the wells as crude oil prices hovered near a seven-year high.

Baker Hughes Co said on Friday that the number of oil and gas rigs, an early indicator of future production, rose six pieces in the week through November 12 to 556, its highest level since April 2020.

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 the economic recovery.

Russia’s Rosneft, the world’s second-largest oil company after Saudi Aramco, warned on Friday of a potential “super-cycle” in global energy markets, raising the prospect of even higher prices as demand outpaces supply.