Using recent advances in panel data estimation techniques, we find that an appreciation of the U.S. dollar exchange rate leads to a significant decline in oil demand for a sample of 65 oil-importing countries. The estimated effect turns out to be considerably larger than the impact of a shift in the global crude oil price expressed in U.S. dollar. This finding appears to be the consequence of a stronger pass-through of changes in the U.S. dollar exchange rate to domestic end-user oil products prices relative to changes in the global crude oil price. Furthermore, we demonstrate the relevance of U.S. dollar fluctuations for global oil price dynamics.