Brent oil price holding around $88 mark amid strong dollar

4 May 2010 4 May 2010

BonTrade

Brent oil prices are holding recent days gains in early trading on Tuesday amid a strong US dollar and recent data suggesting that US crude oil stock levels remain high.

Brent crude oil futures ended Monday’s trading session up $1.50, or 1.7%, at $88.94 a barrel on ther ICE Futures Exchange. The US dollar hovered near nine month highs against the yen and one year peaks versus the euro.

Meanwhile, the oil market was still working out the implications of the giant oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico caused by an explosion at the doomed Deepwater Horizon rig.

“So far the implication of the spill is that drilling may be impacted down the road, while near term contracts are still being pressured by supply surpluses,” said Jim Ritterbusch, president of the oil trading advisory firm Ritterbusch & Associates.

Brent oil prices are currently at their highest level since June 2009 and many analysts believe that oil prices are on a one way march upwards for 2010.