New York's main contract, light sweet crude for December delivery dipped by two dollars to US$77.4, while London's Brent North Sea crude for January fell to US$77.8. As the dollar rose and doubts of a sustainable global economic recovery resurfaced, oil prices dropped. A range of fundamentally unimpressive US economic data led to a dip in the equity markets, pushing investors towards the safety of the dollar. A stronger dollar makes dollar-denominated commodities like crude oil and gold more expensive for buyers using other currencies, dampening commodity demand.
Fresh economic data included the unchanged number of initial claims for US jobless insurance benefits, the seasonally adjusted number of new unemployment claims in the week ending November 14 remained at 505,000.
On Wednesday, oil prices spiked past US$80 on release of government data showing crude reserves in USA fell by 900,000 barrels in the week ending November 13.
20-Nov-09 
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