(RTTNews) - The price of crude oil edged up Monday morning amid a weak U.S. dollar and recovery in the European markets.
Light Sweet Crude Oil (WTI) futures for August delivery were up $0.27 to $76.28 a barrel.
Last week oil settled little changed. A bigger-than-expected decline in U.S. crude inventories was offset by growth concerns after discouraging economic data, including a substantial drop in July consumer sentiment.
In a note to clients, Barclays Capital said that it is maintaining an earlier forecast of crude at $84 a barrel in the third quarter and $87 a barrel in the fourth quarter.
Meanwhile, U.S. dollar was lingering near its two-month low versus the euro and trading flat against the British pound. The greenback was ticking higher against the yen. In early trading, the euro slipped after Moody's downgraded Ireland's debt.
Moody's Investors Service has downgraded its rating on Irish government bonds by one notch to Aa2 from Aa1, citing government's loss of financial strength, weaker prospects for growth in the economy and liabilities in the banking system.
This week traders will look to crude inventories data from the API and EIA, apart from data on building permits, housing starts, existing home sales and weekly jobless claims to get clues on the strength in the recovery of the economy.
