LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) — Oil futures slid further downhill in electronic trade early Monday, with a rising dollar helping weigh on the commodity. Benchmark Nymex crude futures for February CLG5, -2.39% fell by $1, or 1.9%, to $51.69 a barrel on the Globex platform. The contract — which lost 1.1% in New York Mercantile Exchange action Friday — traded as low as $51.40 earlier in the day, according to Reuters data, marking the weakest level for a front-month Nymex oil future since mid 2009. Rival benchmark Brent North Sea crude LCOG5, -2.57% retreated $1.02, or 1.8%, to $55.42 a barrel, extending a 0.2% drop on Friday. It too touched its lowest price since mid 2009 earlier in the day, Reuters said. The moves came as the euro EURUSD, -0.82% retreated sharply, helping send the ICE U.S. dollar index DXY, +0.25% up 0.6% for the day to 91.58, according to FactSet. A rising U.S. currency makes dollar-denominated crude more expensive to holders of euros, yen and other units, often depressing demand for the futures.

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