Crude in slight gains on dollar, data

Crude oil prices were up slightly Tuesday, held back by a stronger US dollar and questions about demand growth raised by new economic data from the United States.

December contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude were up 24 cents to $79.14 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while at last report December Brent crude had added 52 cents to $79.28 per barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.

Industrial production in the United States was up just 0.1 percent in October while producer prices were up 0.3 percent last month.

The results, both weaker than expected, raised questions about the speed of economic recovery and renewed worries about the pace of oil demand growth.

Demand for gasoline last week was 2.1 percent higher than last year at the same time but remained 1 percent below 2007 demand levels, according to one survey.

Nymex December gasoline futures were 2 cents higher to $2 per gallon, while January heating oil also added 2 cents, to $2.09 per gallon, but January natural gas futures fell 8 cents to $4.91 per million British thermal units.

The retail price of a gallon of gasoline in the US fell another 0.4 cent overnight to $2.627 per gallon on average across the nation.