Oil fell in Asian trade yesterday after overnight gains in commodities buoyed by gold's record breaking price surge, analysts said, as investors turned their focus on to a key U.S. inventory report.New York's main contract, light sweet crude for December delivery eased US$0.17 to US$79.43 a barrel.
Brent North Sea crude for December delivery was US$0.40 lower at US$77.71.
Oil had earlier followed gold's lead as the precious metal soared to new record highs Tuesday above US$1,080 an ounce after the International Monetary Fund said it sold 200 tons of gold to India for US$6.7 billion.
However analysts said crude likely fell yesterday because of a stronger U.S. currency, which makes dollar-priced crude more expensive for holders of other foreign units.
"The U.S. dollar has gotten a little stronger this morning and that may have something to do with crude edging down," said Victor Shum, a Singapore-based analyst with energy consultancy Purvin and Gertz.
In Asian trade, the euro traded at US$1.4713 compared with US$1.4728 in late U.S. trade Tuesday.
According to Shum, crude prices are unlikely to hold above the US$80 level due to investor concerns about energy demand amid mixed signals on the state of the global economy, in particular the U.S., the world's top oil user.
"When oil gets close to the US$80 level and the market tends to focus more on the high inventories of crude oil and fuel globally, it is difficult to surge through US$80 and sustain above the US$80 level," Shum said.
"The market will also look at the U.S. government inventory report coming out later today," he said.
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