Crude steady after strong gains

2 February 2010

Written by John King

Crude oil prices were holding around the $75 (£47) mark during the electronic trading session of the New York Mercantile Exchange this morning (February 2nd), steady after a strong rally at the start of the week.

Speaking to Reuters, David Moore, a commodities strategist at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, said yesterday's rise came amid general optimism about the prospects for global economic recovery, but added that markets are once more looking at demand fundamentals today.

"We have a situation where demand in the US still seems quite subdued. We have seen a fairly marginal movement in the dollar, that might be having a negative impact on the oil price," he commented.

The rising strength of the US dollar also made commodities such as oil and heating oil less attractive to foreign investors, with trading in Australia hurt particularly by a surprise dip in the value of its dollar after the central bank announced it would keep interest rates on hold.

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