Oil eases in Asian trade as dollar recovers

I / Singapore October 19, 2009, 9:31 IST

Oil prices eased in Asian trade today as the US dollar recovered against the major currencies, analysts said.     

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for November delivery, fell 12 cents to $78.41 a barrel after closing at $78.53 on Friday, the highest level since October 2008.     

Brent North Sea crude for December delivery shed 14 cents to $76.85.     

The US dollar's rebound against the euro and other major units was the main factor behind the fall in crude prices, analysts added.     

Oil markets were "pretty much impacted by the currency," said Mark Pervan, a senior commodities strategist for ANZ Bank in Melbourne, Australia.     

A stronger dollar tends to discourage investors holding weaker foreign currencies from buying crude which is priced in the greenback.     

Crude prices had surged in recent sessions, fuelled partly by a slumping dollar which boosted investor appetite for hard assets such as oil and other commodities as they sought to protect their wealth from the falling US unit.     

In Asian trade today, the dollar was at 90.98 yen compared with 90.87 yen in late US trade Friday. The euro changed hands at $1.4856, down from 1.4903 Friday.