Oil fell slightly in Asian trade today after overnight gains spurred by a weak dollar and hopes of improved energy demand amid a global recovery, analysts said.
New York's main contract, light sweet crude for December delivery eased 20 cents to $78.70 a barrel.
Brent North Sea crude for January delivery fell 32 cents to $78.44 a barrel.
The two contracts had closed yesterday higher as the US currency continued to weaken despite rare comments from Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke that the central bank strove for a strong dollar.
A lower greenback makes dollar-denominated commodities - like gold and crude oil - cheaper for buyers using stronger currencies. In turn, that tends to lift demand and prices.
Crude futures also received a boost from evidence of growth in Japan after data released Monday showed the world's second biggest economy expanded 1.2 per cent in the July-September period.
It was the second straight quarter of expansion.
OPEC president Jose Maria Botelho de Vasconcelos repeated yesterday the cartel's view that $75-80 oil was an adequate level to allow for a global economic recovery.
"Seventy-five to $80 a barrel is a good price... for the recovery of the world economy," de Vasconcelos, who is also Angola's oil minister, said at a Gulf energy security conference in Abu Dhabi.
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