US Light oil price trading around $77, take a holiday

US Light oil futures price for January delivery was down to $77.30 a barrel at noon Singapore time in trading on the NYMEX on Thursday as the US takes a breather for the annual Thanksgiving holiday.

A weakening US dollar has helped support crude oil prices as investors look to commodities as a hedge against inflation. On days the US dollar weakens, crude oil prices usually rise though the relationship doesn’t always hold.

On Thursday, US dollar dived to a fourteen year low of 86.27 yen from 87.35 the day before. The euro, which hit a 15-month high against the dollar Wednesday, slipped to $1.5104 from $1.5132.

“We can expect some profit taking selling after last night’s sharp gains led by gold and the euro,” said Ken Hasegawa, a commodity derivatives sales manager at Newedge in Tokyo. “It’s possible to go as low as $76.50. That’s the level before it started rising yesterday.”

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