NEW YORK: Oil prices rose to $75 a barrel on Monday as support from a weaker dollar and higher US stocks outweighed pressure from continuing signs of weak demand.
Still, oil prices were near a one-month low of $74 a barrel after having fallen by almost $10 a barrel over the last two weeks since hitting a 15-month peak of $83.95 on Jan. 11. US crude for March delivery rose 48 cents to $75.02 a barrel by 2:04 p.m. EST (1902 GMT). The contract fell $1.54 to settle at $74.54 a barrel on Friday, the lowest settlement since Dec. 22, after trading as low as $74.01. London ICE Brent rose 61 cents to $73.44.
The US dollar index was weaker on Monday. A weak dollar tends to support commodities priced in dollars as they become cheaper for holders of other currencies.
The euro was slightly firmer against the dollar in subdued trade on Monday. In late London trade on Monday, the euro was firmer at 1.4147 dollars, up from 1.4135 late in New York late Friday.
The dollar was higher at 90.14 yen after 89.91 yen on Friday. On the London Bullion Market, the price of gold rose to $1,095.25 an ounce from $1,084 on Friday.
Wall Street opened higher on Monday after a three-day slide at the end of last week, bolstered by the view that US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke may be confirmed for a second term.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 46.03 points (0.45 percent) to 10,219.01 at 1545 GMT, coming off the market’s worst week since last March.
The Nasdaq composite rose 11.44 points (0.52 percent) to 2,216.73 and the broad-market Standard & Poor’s 500 index advanced 5.76 points (0.53 percent) to 1,097.52.
European stock markets fell on Monday after new data showed a higher-than-expected fall in US home sales in December and as investors remained jittery over a planned overhaul of the US banking system.
Sales of US existing homes fell 16.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.45 million units in December, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) said.
