MW: Oil rises as dollar resumes weakness post G-20
By Claudia Assis and Nick Godt, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Crude-oil futures rose Monday as the dollar resumed its decline, hitting a 15-year low against the Japanese yen, after the weekend’s Group of 20 gathering produced little reason to hold it.
Crude for December delivery (CLZ10 83.02, +1.33, +1.63%) added $1.33, or 1.6%, to $83.03 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It earlier hit an intraday high of $83.37 a barrel.
Other energy products tracked oil higher, with the exception of natural gas, which posted a fresh one-year low. Natural gas for November delivery (NGX10 3.30, -0.03, -0.87%) retreated 4 cents, or 1%, to $3.30 per million British thermal units.
Gasoline for November delivery (RBX10 2.07, +0.02, +1.00%) added 3 cents, or 1.6%, to $2.10 a gallon.
Central bankers and finance ministers gathered in South Korea over the weekend produced “a bland ... communique” that was nothing new, analysts at J.P. Morgan said in a note to clients Monday.
Currencies “will continue to take a back seat to domestic priorities,” and, with the G-20 out of the way, traders resumed selling the dollar.
The dollar index (DXY 76.96, -0.51, -0.66%) , which compares the U.S. unit to a basket of six currencies, was off 0.8% to 76.89.
A weaker dollar is usually positive for commodities such as oil as it makes them cheaper for holder of other currencies, broadening their investment appeal.
Crude lost 0.3% last week, its third consecutive week of losses. However, some energy products such as gasoline received support from supply disruptions in Europe due to strikes in France.
“We know that the France strike is leading to larger-than-expected exports from the United States which means we should see draws in products this week unless the refiners decide to step it up,” said Phil Flynn, energy analyst at PFGBest.
