SINGAPORE (Commodity Online) : World oil prices edged up towards $77 a barrel in Asian trade Monday after UAE central bank offered help to troubled Dubai finance sector.

Light sweet crude for January delivery was seen trading at $76.77 a barrel at 11.30 a.m while Brent crude was at $ 77.64 a barrel at the same time in London’s ICE Futures Europe exchange.



On Sunday, Abu Dhabi-based U.A.E. central bank said financial institutions will be able to borrow using a special facility tied to their current accounts.

The black gold also gained on weak dollar, bolstering the attraction of commodities as an alternative investment. Oil gained as much as 1.1 percent Monday.

The dollar traded at $1.5030 per euro in early Asian trade from $1.4988 on Nov. 27. The European currency last week gained 0.9 percent against the greenback, its biggest climb in three weeks.

On Friday, January delivery, settled at $76.05 a barrel, a decline of $1.91 from Wednesday's close while Brent crude for January delivery, closed at $77.18 a barrel.

US markets were closed on Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Markets from Asia to the U.S. fell last week after Dubai World announced on Nov. 25 that it was seeking to delay loan repayments. Dubai’s stock markets will trade Monday for the first time since the news.

Dubai World, a state-owned holding company struggling with $59 billion of debt and other liabilities, said it would seek a standstill agreement with creditors and an extension of loan maturities until at least May 30, 2010.

Post your comment  (0)

Connect:

Post to Twitter

Post to Facebook