NEW YORK (AP) - Oil is holding around $95 per barrel Thursday as lawmakers in Greece approved final details of a plan that will bring sweeping financial reform to its beleaguered economy.
Benchmark West Texas Intermediate for August delivery added 48 cents to $95.25 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The austerity measures passed this week clear the way for Greece to receive crucial bailout funds. This should ease, for now, investor concerns about a spreading financial crisis in Europe.
As a result, the euro strengthened against the dollar, giving oil a boost. Oil is priced in U.S. currency, and it tends to rise as the dollar falls and makes crude barrels cheaper for investors holding foreign money.
Meanwhile, retail gasoline prices slipped less than a penny overnight to $3.541 per gallon.
