Crude gains slightly on lower dollar

Crude oil prices rose slightly in New York and London on Tuesday as the dollar declined versus the euro even though demand worries were amplified by a new report on US consumer confidence from the Conference Board.

The Conference Board’s confidence index was at 64.5 in its latest survey, down from 76.4 in February, while expectations for the next six months were at 47.9, their lowest since the 1973 oil embargo.

May contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude were up 21 cents to $101.07 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after staying lower most of the session, while Brent crude added 59 cents to $100.45 per barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.

Nymex April gasoline was up 3 cents to $2.67 per gallon while May heating oil dropped 6 cents to $2.82 per gallon and May natural gas gained 9 cents to $9.51 per million British thermal units.