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Light, sweet crude for September delivery fell 2.54 dollars to settle at 122.19 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the lowest settlement since May 6 when price settled at 121.84 dollars a barrel. Futures tumbled more than 4 dollars to 120.42 dollars a barrel in the early morning trading.
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A station attendant fills up a car at a gas station in Valparaiso city, about 75 miles (120km) northwest of Santiago, July 2, 2008. Crude futures dropped to the lowest settlement in nearly three months on July 29 as the U.S. dollar gained against the euro, and OPEC said there is enough supply and prices are too high. |
The dollar gained a strong 1.2 percent against the euro Tuesday as the U.S. July Consumer Confidence Index came above previously expected. A rising dollar curbed the appeal of buying commodities as a hedge against inflation.
The crude price was also pressured after OPEC President Chakib Khelil said in Jakarta, Indonesia, that there were enough supply to meet the demand in the oil market, and that prices were being inflated by geopolitical tensions.
Meanwhile, falling fuel demand continued to weigh on the market. The U.S. Transportation Department said Monday that U.S. vehicle drivers traveled 9.6 million miles less in May than the same time last year, marking a biggest drop in the usually busy summer driving season. Crude oil has lost more than 18 percent compared with its record 147.27 dollars a barrel achieved on July 11.
In London, Brent crude for September delivery slid 3.13 dollars to settle at 122.71 dollars a barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange.