Crude oil fell, giving up earlier gains, after the U.S. dollar recovered against the euro, reducing the appeal of commodities to investors. Crude fell as the dollar rebounded, diminishing the attraction of dollar-priced commodities used to hedge against inflation. The euro was at $1.3162 at 12:30 p.m. London time, down 0.2 percent. Crude oil for March delivery fell as much as $1.33, or 2.9 percent, to $44.40 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract traded at $45.07 at 12:40 p.m. London time. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. today said risks to oil price movements are to the “downside” and gains made last week do not represent an end to the current bear market. “We believe that it is premature to get long oil and prefer to remain short until inventories stop building and demand weakness subsides,” said a report by Goldman analysts including Jeffrey Currie in London. Brent crude oil for March settlement fell as much as $1.74, or 3.7 percent, to $45.22 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures Europe exchange, and was trading at $46.06 at 12:32 p.m. local time.

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