Singapore: Oil fell slightly in Asian trade on Tuesday 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 USD 78.70 a barrel.
Brent North Sea crude for January delivery fell 32 cents to USD 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 percent 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 USD 75-80 oil was an adequate level to allow for a global economic recovery.
"Seventy-five to USD 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.
Bureau Report
First Published: Tuesday, November 17, 2009, 10:23