Oil Slips to Near $111 in Asia

Oil prices fell to near $111 a barrel Tuesday in Asia as a stronger dollar made crude more expensive for investors with other currencies. Light sweet crude for June delivery was seen trading at $111.17 a barrel at 12.00 noon Singapore time while Brent crude was at $122.91 a barrel in London. In other Nymex trading in May contracts, heating oil fell 1.2 cents to $3.17 a gallon and gasoline slid 2.3 cents to $3.30 a gallon. Natural gas futures were down 5 cents at $4.34 per 1,000 cubic feet. Analyst said profit selling by some investors to cash in on recent gains, was the main reason behind oil’s decline while a rebounding dollar also contributed. However they said investors continued to worry about political unrest in the Middle East and North Africa and said prices remained volatile due to lingering concerns over there. The greenback erased losses against other major currencies and the Dollar Index, a measure of the greenback versus six major currencies, gained 0.3% today, the first increase in six days. he euro fell to $1.4539 on Tuesday from $1.4579 late Monday. Oil is priced in dollars, so it tends to fall as the dollar strengthens and makes crude more expensive for investors holding foreign money. inancial markets on both sides of the Atlantic were closed in observance of Good Friday, and major European markets remained closed on Easter Monday.