Oil rises toward $72 on weak dollar, cold

Cold expected in US heating fuel regions this week
NEW YORK: Oil rose toward $72 a barrel on Monday, as a weaker US dollar and cold weather provided support after three straight losing sessions. Unusually cold weather will settle across key heating fuel consuming regions in the United States this week, in the wake of heavy snow over the weekend, forecasters said.
Over the past year, oil prices have frequently weakened as the dollar firmed, at times signaling a flight to safer havens by investors. Conversely, crude prices have often risen as the dollar has weakened.
US crude for March rose 66 cents to $71.85 a barrel by 1625 GMT. The contract fell as low as $69.50 on Friday, the lowest since Dec. 15. In London, Brent crude rose 51 cents to $70.10.
"The complex furthered Friday's late session recovery at the start of this new week with some help from a softer dollar and a steady tone to the equities," said Jim Ritterbusch, president at Ritterbusch & Associates, in a research note.
"Cold temperature forecasts and some renewed concerns over Iran's nuclear program also provided support," he said
The United States and Germany have threatened carefully targeted new sanctions against Iran, which gave instructions on Sunday for the production of higher-grade nuclear reactor fuel.
Investors have looked to wider economic data over the past year for signs of a recovery in the global economy and a potential rebound in flagging energy demand.
Major commodity markets are testing 200-day moving averages after sharp sell-offs in the past three weeks, but that important technical support level appears to have held for US crude.
"For now, we would venture to say that a measure of stability could be with us over the next day or two," said Edward Meir, analyst at MF Global, in a report.
Potential disruptions to supply in Nigeria also supported prices. A militant group said on Sunday it had attacked a Shell oil pipeline in the Niger Delta but the company said it had no reports of any such sabotage. -Reuters