Oil prices skid below $78 as Dollar Index trades higher

Oil prices skidded below the $78 mark in trading on Tuesday as the Dollar Index gained a little strength against the Euro and other main currencies.

WTI Light crude oil futures for July 2010 delivery expired today, settling down 61 cents, or 0.8%, at $77.21 a barrel on the NYMEX, while in London, Brent crude oil futures for July 2010 delivery fell around one percent to $78.04 a barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange.

The Dollar Index, which tracks the US dollar against six major counterparts, stood at 86.079, compared with 86.023 on Monday.

“We saw some weakening in conjunction with the bad US housing numbers this morning, and selling in equities and a weakening in the Euro,” said Jim Ritterbusch, president of the trading advisory firm Ritterbusch & Associates.

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