Oil prices climb on dollar weakness

9 February 2010

Written by Kim Bardsley

Crude oil prices climbed during the electronic trading session of the New York Mercantile Exchange this morning (February 9th), supported by a weaker dollar and a germ of optimism about Greece's debt concerns.

Speaking to Reuters, Michelle Kwek, an analyst at Informa Global Markets in Singapore, said the falling dollar was the primary factor supporting the price rise, as a weaker greenback makes US commodities more attractive to foreign traders.

"The recovery in crude is very much dollar-driven. There was a bounce in the euro due to short-covering, which helped boost oil prices," she added.

As European markets opened, the headline crude contract was trading around $72.20 (£46.30), up 31 cents on yesterday's settle price.

Heating oil prices also climbed this morning, with both commodities finding support ahead of an emergency meeting to be held by EU leaders later this week to discuss the burgeoning debt crisis in Greece and other European countries.

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