SINGAPORE—Oil prices stayed above $61 a barrel Friday in Asia as investors sought a hedge against inflation amid weakening U.S. dollar.
Benchmark crude for July delivery was up 53 cents to $61.58 a barrel by late afternoon in Singapore in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Thursday, the contract fell 99 cents to settle at $61.05.
Investors often buy commodities such as oil as a protection against a weaker U.S. dollar and possible inflation. The dollar fell Friday to a four-month low against the euro, which was trading at $1.3944. The dollar bought 94.18 yen, down from 99 yen two weeks ago.
Crude prices have also been buoyed this week by two refinery fires in the U.S. and renewed fighting between the government and rebels in oil-rich Nigeria.
Investors brushed off pessimistic comments this week from the U.S. central bank. The Federal Reserve sees "significant downside risks" for the U.S. economy, with the global financial system still "vulnerable to further shocks," according to minutes of a Fed meeting released this week.
The comments helped push stocks down, with the Dow Jones industrial average falling 1.5 percent Thursday. Most Asian stock indexes also dropped Friday.
Oil prices have jumped about 75 percent since March on expectations the worst of a severe recession is over.
"We're going to see a recovery but it looks like its going to be very muddled," said Christoffer Moltke-Leth, head of
sales trading for Saxo Capital Markets in Singapore. "If stocks keep falling, oil will eventually follow."
In other Nymex trading, gasoline for June delivery rose 2.53 cents to $1.83 a gallon and heating oil gained 0.66 cent to $1.54 a gallon. Natural gas for June delivery was steady at $3.60 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In London, Brent prices rose 21 cents to $60.14 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
