Oil edges higher on weaker dollar, but demand threats from US China tension
Oil prices edged higher on Friday on the back of a weaker US dollar, although demand concerns stemming from rising coronavirus cases and escalating US-China tensions kept a cap on prices.
The dollar slid to 22-month lows against a basket of currencies. A weaker dollar usually ups buying of commodities priced in the greenback, like oil, because they become cheaper for holders of other currencies.
Brent crude rose by 6 cents, or 0.1 per cent, to $43.37 a barrel by 0634 GMT, and US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose by 1 cent to $41.08.
“Crude prices are attempting to stabilize as expectations still remain high that Congress will be successful in delivering another pandemic relief package” for the United States, said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA in New York.
