BZ: Oil Falls Below $73 On Dollar Strength, Employment Worries
Crude oil fell below $73 a barrel Tuesday morning, as a strong dollar and job worries weighed on the commodity. The United States Oil Fund (NYSE: USO) is down 1.8% today, to $32.50.
U.S. light, sweet crude for October delivery is down $1.67, or 2.2%, to $72.93 a barrel.
A stronger dollar has contributed to the slide this morning, with the PowerShares US Dollar Index (NYSE: UUP) up 0.97%, to $24.02. The dollar and oil are usually inversely related, as a stronger dollar makes oil more expensive.
"Equities came off, the dollar is strong—it's pretty much a knock-on effect," Rob Montefusco, a trader at Sucden Financial told Reuters.
Elsewhere Tuesday, The Conference Board, a private research group, said its Employment Trends Index fell to 96.7 in August from a revised 97.4 in July. According to a Reuters report, the data could be "signalling U.S. employment growth may continue to slow in coming months."
"Figures (from the United States) started to be a little better... But there is still no job creation, there is still a lot a debt around," Montefusco said. "The only pick up we are getting is coming out of Asia."
