Oil slips as dollar gains, gasoline up for 34th straight day to $3.86 per gallonThe price of crude oil was stable Monday, dipping one cent to settle at US$112.28 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange as the U.S. dollar pulled back from lows set earlier in the day.. In London, Brent crude lost 33 cents to settle at $123.66 per barrel on the ICE Futures exchange Oil is priced in U.S. dollars, so crude tends to fall as the greenbak strengthens and makes crude more expensive for investors holding foreign money. The U.S. dollar has been weak because investors think the Federal Reserve will continue to keep interest rates near zero when it meets Tuesday and Wednesday. Rock-bottom U.S. interest rates make the dollar less attractive to investors. Gasoline pump prices climbed for the 34th straight day, to a national U.S. average of more than $3.86 per gallon (101.97 cents US per litre), according to AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service. In Canada, where gasoline prices are typically higher, the national average price on Monday was 130.06 cents Cdn per litre, according to GasBuddy.com. A gallon of regular has increased 32 cents since March 22. The U.S. average price is now a dollar more per gallon than a year ago. In other Nymex trading, heating oil lost 1.73 cents to settle at $3.1989 per gallon and gasoline futures added less than a penny to settle at $3.2785 per gallon. Natural gas dropped 2.3 cents to $4.389 per 1,000 cubic feet.
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