Dollar Drives Down Oil
Oil prices fell again, as speculators who drove crude futures to nearly $120 a barrel pulled out of the market.
Light, sweet crude for June delivery fell 94 cents to settle at $112.52 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after trading as low as $110.30.
The dollar’s rise against the euro and other currencies drained away some of oil’s appeal to investors who have bet for months that the greenback would continue to slide. When the dollar gains ground, commodities such as oil lose value as a hedge against inflation, prompting selling.
At the pump, the average national price of a gallon of regular gasoline rose 0.6 cent to a record $3.623, according to a survey of stations by AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. Diesel prices inched 0.1 cent higher to a record $4.251 a gallon.
June gasoline futures fell 2.81 cents to settle at $2.8782 a gallon on the Nymex, and June heating oil futures lost 4.03 cents to settle at $3.1177 a gallon. June natural gas futures gave up 28.2 cents to settle at $10.561 per 1,000 cubic feet.
The Energy Department said natural gas inventories rose by 86 billion cubic feet last week, more than many analysts expected.
