Oil gains as dollar slumps

30 June 2010

Written by Neil Brunskill

Crude oil prices were rising on the New York Mercantile Exchange this morning (June 30th) as foreign traders moved into dollar-priced commodities to capitalise on a weaker greenback.

The dollar was down amid speculation that economic recovery in the US is slowing, with many traders concerned about a raft of US employment and manufacturing data due out over the next three days.

In the Asian trading session, the weakness in the dollar encouraged investors to reconsider their position on commodities such as crude and heating oil, both of which have slumped in recent trade.

By the time European markets opened, crude had risen back above $76 a barrel, while heating oil prices were broadly stable.

Commenting on this morning's dominant market sentiment, Ken Hasegawa, a commodity derivatives sales manager at broker Newedge Group in Tokyo, told Bloomberg: "Everyone understands now that it will take more time than expected for the economy of America to get better."