Oil gains over 2% on weaker dollar

Oil prices advanced for fourth day in a row on Thursday lifted by data showing a  third consecutive week of declines in US crude inventories and a weaker dollar.

West Texas Intermediate crude for November rose 2.36% to trade at $46.41 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, having hit a high of $46.52. WTI has risen around 6% so far this week.

The US dollar weakened across the board after the Federal Reserve meeting, as the dovish tone raised doubts on whether the Fed might hike rates at least once again this year. Commodity prices tend to rise when the dollar falls as they become cheaper for holders of other currencies.

Also fueling oil gains were headlines quoting Iraq's Oil Minister as saying that he hopes the upcoming OPEC meeting in Algeria can set a production ceiling in order to prop up oil prices.