Oil prices edged up on Tuesday, bolstered by a weaker dollar, while markets watched President Donald Trump’s threats of higher U.S. tariffs on European nations over his desire to buy Greenland.
Brent futures rose 15 cents, or 0.2%, to $64.09 a barrel at 0430 GMT. The U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude contract for February , which expires on Tuesday, was up 14 cents, or 0.2%, to $59.58.
The more actively-traded WTI March contract gained 6 cents, or 0.1%, to $59.40. WTI contracts did not settle on Monday due to the U.S. Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday.
“A weaker U.S. dollar provided some support to oil and the broader commodities complex,” said ING commodities strategists on Tuesday.
A weaker greenback makes dollar-denominated oil contracts cheaper for holders of other currencies. (.DXY). Prices have held up relatively well amid a broader risk-off move in the markets, said ING, adding this followed the re-emergence of trade tensions between the U.S. and Europe over Trump’s Greenland demands.
Over the weekend, fears of a renewed trade war escalated after Trump said he would impose additional 10% levies from February 1 on goods imported from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland and Britain, rising to 25% on June 1 if no deal on Greenland was reached.
