World oil prices alleviate as dollar gets stronger, after falling by more than 6 dollars

25-Aug-08

In Asian trading, the euro is currently trading at 1.4737 dollars compared with 1.4779 in New York late Friday. This morning witnessed a drop in oil prices in Asian trade as the US dollar gets stronger. The recent gains in the value of the dollar have weakened demand for dollar-denominated commodities including oil, along with constant concerns of slowing global economic growth. New York's main contract, light sweet crude for October delivery, dipped to US$114.45 a barrel. Brent North Sea crude for October delivery fell to US$113.6. Crude oil witnessed their largest drop in percentage terms since December 2004, by more than six dollars - as the U.S. dollar strengthened and BP Plc restored shipments on a Caspian Sea pipeline through Turkey. The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, which moves oil from Azerbaijan through Georgia to Turkey's Mediterranean coast, resumed normal flows after a fire shut it earlier this month. The dollar's movement this week will be the key influence on oil prices. The market is also looking forward to a meeting of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in September.