By Virginia Harrison, MarketWatch
SYDNEY (MarketWatch) — Benchmark crude-oil futures snapped a two-day losing streak in electronic trading Tuesday, assisted by a weaker dollar.
Crude for July delivery CL1N +0.20% gained 12 cents, or 0.1%, to $97.42 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange during Asian trading hours.
Oil lost ground earlier in the session, but a weaker U.S. dollar helped support oil prices in electronic trading. Commodities are priced in dollars and usually trade inversely to the greenback.
The dollar index DXY +0.04% , which compares the U.S. unit to a basket of six currencies, traded at 74.373, down from 74.775 late Monday. Read more on currencies.
Crude prices have been trending lower amid concerns about the strength of the global economic recovery and news that Saudi Arabia will increase supply levels in July.
However, Chinese economic data out Tuesday revealed some strength for the economy.
Consumer inflation came in at 5.5%, accelerating from 5.3% in April, and was roughly in line with economists’ forecasts.
Industrial production data showed a 13.3% advance in May, just above forecasts for a 13.2% increase, while retail sales were 16.9% above the year-ago period. Read more about China’s inflation data.
A clearer picture of the economic recovery in the U.S. will be delivered later this week with the release of retail sales, business inventories and consumer inflation data.
