Investing.com - Oil prices were lower in U.S. trading on Tuesday amid uncertainty over when U.S. monetary stimulus measures may end, which fueled demand for the safe haven dollar.
A stronger greenback often makes oil a less attractive commodity in dollar-denominated exchanges, especially in the eyes of investors holding other currencies.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in July traded down 0.57% at USD96.38 a barrel on Tuesday, off from a session high of USD97.23 and up from an earlier session low of USD95.77.
The dollar moved higher earlier amid a flight to safety ahead of Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's Wednesday testimony before Congress.
Stimulus measures currently in place, such as the Fed's monthly USD85 billion bond-buying program, weaken the greenback by flooding the economy full of liquidity to keep interest rates low and encourage investing and hiring.
Federal Reserve officials have suggested in public recently that the U.S. central bank may begin to scale back stimulus tools this summer, though some backtracked on such comments, causing uncertainty in markets that made the dollar more attractive due to its safe-haven appeal.
Investors also avoided oil ahead of supply data due for release on Wednesday, as concerns continue to persist that the U.S. economy is awash in crude.
Elsewhere on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for July delivery were down 0.55% at USD104.23 a barrel, up USD7.85 from its U.S. counterpart.
A stronger greenback often makes oil a less attractive commodity in dollar-denominated exchanges, especially in the eyes of investors holding other currencies.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in July traded down 0.57% at USD96.38 a barrel on Tuesday, off from a session high of USD97.23 and up from an earlier session low of USD95.77.
The dollar moved higher earlier amid a flight to safety ahead of Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's Wednesday testimony before Congress.
Stimulus measures currently in place, such as the Fed's monthly USD85 billion bond-buying program, weaken the greenback by flooding the economy full of liquidity to keep interest rates low and encourage investing and hiring.
Federal Reserve officials have suggested in public recently that the U.S. central bank may begin to scale back stimulus tools this summer, though some backtracked on such comments, causing uncertainty in markets that made the dollar more attractive due to its safe-haven appeal.
Investors also avoided oil ahead of supply data due for release on Wednesday, as concerns continue to persist that the U.S. economy is awash in crude.
Elsewhere on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for July delivery were down 0.55% at USD104.23 a barrel, up USD7.85 from its U.S. counterpart.