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Oil inches up towards $75

13 October 2009 15:24 (UTC +04:00)

Baku -APA-Economics. Oil rose above $74 a barrel in New York for the first time since August as the slumping dollar heightened crudeâ€™s appeal as an inflation hedge, Bloomberg reported.

Crude oil for November delivery rose as much as 87 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $74.14 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Thatâ€™s the highest since Aug. 25. It was at $74.03 at 12:03 p.m. London time. Futures are up 66 percent this year.

The dollar fell to its lowest in almost three weeks versus the single European currency, sending crude higher for a fourth day. The U.S. currency was at $1.4830 a euro at 11:45 a.m. London time.

OPEC, responsible for about 40 percent of worldwide oil supply, predicts that total crude consumption will increase by 700,000 barrels a day to 84.93 million barrels a day next year, led by demand from emerging markets.
The Energy Department is scheduled to release its Weekly Petroleum Status Report Oct. 15 at 11 a.m. in Washington, a day later than usual because of the Columbus Day holiday.
Brent crude oil for November settlement gained as much as 95 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $72.31 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. Thatâ€™s the highest since Aug. 31. It was at $72.29 at 12:06 p.m. London time.