Oil prices start week trading around $85 on weak US dollar

Oil prices started the weeks trading around $85 a barrel amid a weaker US dollar, as the dollar index fell over one percent, the most since July 2009.

US Light crude oil futures rose to $85.22 a barrel, after having risen by as much as 79 cents, while London Brent crude oil futures are currently at $85.29.

“The weaker US dollar and positive Chinese trade data are the two main supporting factors,” said David Moore, an analyst at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

“If oil markets continue to take cues from supply and demand, in preference to the dollar, equities or economic data, we cannot paint a picture that includes higher prices,” Cameron Hanover said in a report.

“The surge in crude prices over the past week has pushed crude out of its one month range and within reach of USD 90 a barrel, but to reach that goal, the market has to fret more about OPEC than a barrage of negative fundamentals,” said Lawrence Eagles, an analyst at JP Morgan in New York.

With all these developments, Eagles said investors should stay long on crude oil futures and buy on dips.

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