Crude oil traded near a 30-month high in New York as Middle East unrest disrupted crude production and investors purchased commodities as a hedge against the declining dollar. Futures fluctuated, rising as much as 0.6 percent before dropping 0.4 percent. Brent crude fell on reports Muammar Qaddafi has accepted a cease-fire with rebels. The Dollar Index, a measure of the greenback versus six major currencies, has fallen 5 percent since the beginning of the year. “What’s supporting crude is the political unrest but what’s dictating the everyday movements has been financial factors like the dollar,” said Serene Lim, a commodity analyst with Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. in Singapore. “The dollar’s influence on crude is still important at this point.” Crude oil for May delivery was at $112.70 a barrel, down 9 cents, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 12:19 p.m. Singapore time. The contract earlier declined as low as $112.29 and rose as high as $113.46. Futures climbed 2.3 percent to $112.79 on April 8, the highest since Sept. 22, 2008. Oil has gained 34 percent in the past year. Brent oil for May settlement fell as much as $1.11, or 0.9 percent, to $125.54 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The contract increased $3.98, or 3.2 percent, to end the session at $126.65 on April 8. Peace Roadmap Qaddafi agreed to an African Union peace plan presented by South African President Jacob Zuma, according to the Associated Press and Reuters. Zuma presented a four-point program including a cease-fire, humanitarian aid, protection for foreign nationals and political reforms, a spokesman for the African Union, Noureddine Mezni, said in an interview late yesterday with the BBC. Zuma said he will meet today with rebel leaders in Benghazi. The dollar has declined amid a battle over the U.S. budget that threatened to close the government last week. The agreement April 8 between U.S. Congress leaders and President Barack Obama was announced less than two hours before funding authority was due to expire, which would have started a partial shutdown of services and offices. “Weakness in the U.S. dollar has provided unlooked support for commodities,” Deustche Bank AG said in a report today. “Some of the downward pressure on the dollar is coming from the continuing spending and budget muddle in Washington.” Brent crude traded at a premium of $12.99 a barrel to U.S. futures. The difference between front-month contracts in London and New York surged to a record $19.54 on Feb. 21 as unrest spread in the Middle East and North Africa and stockpiles climbed at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for New York futures. The spread averaged 76 cents last year. Hedge funds raised bets on higher crude prices as continued airstrikes in Libya raised concerns about production after the country’s conflict ends. Net-long positions in oil held by hedge funds, commodity pools and commodity-trading advisers, increased by 13,231 futures and options combined, or 4.5 percent, to 305,297, according to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s weekly Commitments of Traders report. It was the third-highest level in records dating back to 2006. To contact the reporters on this story: Christian Schmollinger in Singapore at christian.s@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Clyde Russell at crussell7@bloomberg.net

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