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| Oil stays below $83 in Asian trade |
| AFP/PTI / Singapore Jan 08, 2010, 11:25 IST |
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Oil prices were down in Asia today on a stronger dollar and signs of easing energy demand in the United States, the world's biggest oil consuming nation.
New York's main futures contract, light sweet crude for February delivery fell 30 cents to $82.36 a barrel. The contract topped $83 on Wednesday for the first time in 14 months.
Brent North Sea crude for February delivery fell 45 cents to $81.06.
"The weakening of the US dollar was something that helped oil rally over mid-December. As the US dollar strengthens that has an opposite effect on oil prices," said Ben Westmore, a minerals and energy economist for the National Australia Bank in Melbourne.
The dollar firmed after Japan's new finance minister, Naoto Kan, spooked financial markets with a call for a weaker yen, raising speculation about government intervention in the market.
"Trade in oil is reasonably thin, so we're not reading too much into the price movements, but in terms of the daily movement a lot of it has to do with the US dollar," Westmore added.
A stronger dollar often tends to dampen demand for dollar-priced crude oil and other commodities as they become more expensive to holders of weaker currencies.
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