Crude oil rose for the first time in three days as the dollar pared gains against the euro and as a strike in France spread. Oil climbed as much as 0.9 percent as the U.S. currency retreated from the highest level since Oct. 12. French truckers blocked highways and officials said they’d use police to prevent strikers from cutting fuel supplies as the standoff hardened over President Nicolas Sarkozy’s plans to raise the retirement age to 62. “It’s all about the dollar,” said Michael Fitzpatrick, a broker with MF Global in New York. “Strip away everything and we are looking at a market that should be at about $60. There’s a lot of capital flowing from one area to another. Whenever the dollar moves, you see commodities react.” Crude oil for November delivery increased 64 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $81.89 a barrel at 9:51 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices declined as much as 90 cents earlier today. Brent crude oil for December settlement climbed 81 cents, or 1 percent, to $83.26 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London. The dollar was up 0.2 percent against the euro at $1.3917, after advancing as much as 1 percent. The French government said it won’t give in to demands that it suspend parliamentary debate on the change in retirement plans and keep the minimum retirement age at 60. Sarkozy’s ministers sought to guarantee fuel, saying police would be deployed to ensure access to storage sites as the refinery strikes entered a second week. Fuel Market Focus “Products are still keeping an eye on the French refinery strike,” said Phil Flynn, vice president of research at PFGBest in Chicago. Gasoline for November delivery gained 3.07 cents, or 1.5 percent, to $2.1345 a gallon on the Nymex. November heating oil rose 2.63 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $2.2571 a gallon. Central bank stimulus, or quantitative easing, may push oil prices to $100 a barrel in 2011 by weakening the U.S. dollar, Bank of America Merrill Lynch Commodity Strategist Francisco Blanch said in an Oct. 17 research report. This poses a dilemma for Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke since high oil prices will create a burden on the average American, taking away the benefit of other effects of quantitative easing, according to the report. “The Fed is creating a bit of uncertainty in the marketplace,” Flynn said. “The market is still a bit disappointed that Ben Bernanke gave no hints to the size and scope of the next round of quantitative easing.” Fuel Demand U.S. consumption of refined products rose 1.8 percent in September from the year before, signaling demand is recovering as the economy rebounds, the American Petroleum Institute, a Washington-based industry group, said in an Oct. 15 report. Fuel deliveries, a measure of demand, averaged 18.9 million barrels a day, up from 18.6 million in September 2009. Net-long positions in oil futures and options held by hedge funds, commodity pools and trading advisers, rose 10,198, or 6.1 percent, to 178,738 contracts, according to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. To contact the reporter on this story: Mark Shenk in New York at mshenk1@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dan Stets at dstets@bloomberg.net

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