New York, July 31 (IANS): Oil prices inched down as a dollar rally weighed on the market.

The West Texas Intermediate for September delivery moved down 27 cents to settle at $48.52 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for September delivery decreased seven cents to close at $53.31 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Future Exchange.

The dollar rose against other major currencies as robust economic data from the country bolstered market expectation for an interest-rate hike by the year-end, Xinhua reported.

A stronger greenback made the dollar-priced crude more expensive and less attractive for buyers holding other currencies.

Oil prices did not lose much as the concern of global supplies glut eased.

US crude supplies of last week decreased 4.2 million barrels to 459.7 million, 92.3 million barrels more than one year before, according to Energy Information Administration's weekly report.

US crude production fell 145,000 barrels to 9.413 million barrels a day in that week.