Singapore, November 23: Oil prices moved above USD 78 a barrel in Asian trade today as a weaker US dollar helped boost demand, analysts said.
New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for January delivery, advanced 79 cents to USD 78.26 a barrel in morning trade. The December contract, which expired at the weekend, closed at USD 76.72 in New York last Friday.
Brent North Sea crude for January delivery was up 69 cents to USD 77.89.
“We are seeing the US dollar weaken against the euro and investors continue to see oil at this low end of the trading range to be a buy opportunity,” said Victor Shum, an analyst with energy consultancy Purvin and Gertz in Singapore.
“Investors see the US dollar to be on a downward trend for the long term and so there are continued inflows into oil and other commodities,” he said.
–PTI