Oil prices bounced back this evening as the US currency weakened against the euro. US crude climbed 42 cents to $81.10 a barrel, while Brent crude also by 42 cents to reach $80.30.
Prices had fallen under the $80 mark earlier in the day as the dollar rallied, traders said. A stronger US currency makes dollar-denominated crude more expensive for buyers using weaker currencies and therefore tends to dent oil demand and prices. But the reverse tends to occur when the dollar weakens against its rivals.
Energy traders also followed events in Geneva, where leading OPEC ministers warned against financial speculation on oil markets, fuelled by the uncertain economic recovery and sudden booming demand in emerging economies.
The president of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries and ministers from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates said that they were striving for stable and optimum prices in the wake of the volatility triggered by the global financial crisis.
OPEC president and Ecuadoran Resources Minister Germanico Pinto told a UN conference in Geneva that although the oil market had moved to a 'more realistic and stable oil price', pressures for 'extreme volatility' remained.
