Oil prices edged higher on Tuesday as the dollar slid, while investors debated the potential impact to energy supply and demand from Hurricane Idalia set to hit Florida this week.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures rose $1.07, or 1.3%, to $81.17 a barrel by 1:42 p.m. EDT [1742 GMT], while Brent crude futures were up by 98 cents, or 1.2%, to $85.40 a barrel.
The U.S. dollar index dropped on Tuesday after data showed that U.S. job openings, a measure of labor demand, fell in July. Softness in the labor market could encourage the Federal Reserve to slow down interest rate hikes, experts said.
