Oil prices rose this evening, supported by a weaker dollar and comments from the oil minister of top exporter Saudi Arabia.
Saudi oil minister Ali al-Naimi said he was seeing real evidence of world economic recovery in the form of demand for Saudi crude.
US crude rose $1.68 to $71.39 a barrel, while London Brent crude gained $1.52 to $70.21. Prices had dropped sharply on Monday.
Mr al-Naimi told Reuters demand for Saudi crude was increasing and OPEC would not cut output next year.
Meanwhile, the dollar fell against other currencies today and hit a one-year low against the euro. Its weakness makes dollar-denominated commodities cheaper for investors holding currencies other than the dollar.
For much of this year, oil has been negatively correlated to the dollar and has moved in tandem with stock markets, which have recovered strongly from March's lows.
Many analysts are worried that any economic recovery will be much slower and more difficult than the stock markets are implying and that fuel demand will continue to be depressed.
Oil prices have more than doubled from their December low of just above $32 a barrel and struck a 2009 high of $75 a barrel in August, but since the start of September they have been trapped in a narrow range between about $68 and $72.
