News Flash

Oil rebounds on weakening dollar

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-02-09 05:08

NEW YORK: Oil prices recovered from last week's loss and settled higher on Monday as the dollar fell against euro.

The dollar weakened against major currencies on Monday, offering support for commodities like oil futures. A falling greenback usually increases the appeal of crude as an alternative investment.

Geographic factors also weighed on oil prices. Iran's latest move in its nuclear activities and the report of an oil pipeline attack in Africa's largest oil producer Nigeria during the weekend added to investors' concern of a possible disruption in oil supply.

Meanwhile, the market expects that the cold weather in east and mid-Atlantic regions of the United States would increase heating oil consumption.

Investors will get the latest government inventory report on Wednesday. Crude stockpiles jumped surprisingly last week and the market was bearish about this week, which limited oil's gains on Monday.

Light, sweet crude for March delivery rose 70 cents to settle at $71.89 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In London, Brent crude for March delivery edged up 44 cents to $70.03 a barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange.