Crude oil futures price rises on US dollar decline

Crude oil rose above $67 a barrel in New York in late trading on Tuesday as the US dollar retreated from gains and investors purchased futures on signs of a global economic rebound.

Oil climbed, reversing earlier declines, after the dollar slid against the euro today, prompting investors to buy commodities as an inflation hedge. Chinese manufacturing expanded for a sixth month in September and Japanese industrial output climbed for a sixth time in August. An industry report yesterday showed U.S. crude stockpiles climbed for a third week.

“There is still this feeling that the worst is over so eventually the economy is going to pull us out of this,” said Anthony Nunan, an assistant general manager for risk management at Mitsubishi Corp. in Tokyo. “The fundamentals don’t look good but we’ll see fund buying interest at this level.”

Crude oil for November delivery rose as much as 69 cents, or 1 percent, to $67.40 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was at $67.26 a barrel at 2:08 p.m. Singapore time. Yesterday, the contract fell 13 cents to settle at $66.71. Oil is poised for a 4 percent decline for the three months ending today, the first drop in three quarters.

The dollar traded at $1.4634 per euro at 2:03 p.m. Singapore time, from $1.4587 yesterday, when it touched $1.4527, the strongest level since Sept. 14. The dollar has weakened 4 percent against the euro this quarter.

“The dollar is having an effect,” said Ben Westmore, an energy and minerals economist at National Australia Bank Ltd. in Melbourne. “Part of the reason earlier in the week that oil didn’t fall on the stronger dollar was that it seemed to have fallen to resistance levels around the $65 a-barrel mark.”