Wall Street closes lower as oil prices fall

NEW YORK (AA) - Wall Street closed Tuesday with losses as crude oil prices have continued to decline against a strengthening dollar.

The Dow lost 44 points to close at 20,837 and the S&P fell eight points to 2,365.

The Nasdaq decreased 18 points to finish the day at 5,856.

An increasingly likely rate hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve this month keeps the value of American dollar high, which creates downward pressure on oil prices.

At the final bell, American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was trading at $47.94 a barrel with a 1 percent decline. International benchmark Brent crude was at $51.12 per barrel -- a 0.5 percent decline.

The market and investors will closely be watching Wednesday the Fed's interest rate decision.