Oil rises to near $74 in Asia

SINGAPORE — Oil prices rose to near $74 a barrel Tuesday in Asia as investors eyed a weakening U.S. dollar and looked to commodities for protection against possible inflation.

Benchmark crude for November delivery was up 52 cents at $73.79 by late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract gained $1.50 to settle at $73.27 on Monday amid expectations of stronger demand during the U.S. winter.

Crude has shuffled between $65 and $75 for months as traders mull signs of an uneven economic recovery and consumer demand.

The dollar has slid over the last month on concern that massive stimulus spending designed to spark economic growth will eventually trigger inflation.

“We expect commodity prices to be heading north over the next 12 months as a hedge against inflation,” said Melvyn Boey, deputy director of Asian equity research for Bank of America Merrill Lynch. “That includes oil and gold, down to soft commodities such as palm.”

The euro fell to $1.4771 from $1.4778 and the dollar rose to 90.01 yen from 89.80 in late Asia trading.

“The U.S. dollar has weakened considerably over the last four weeks and we don’t expect that trend to reverse,” Boey said. “If you look at it, they (the U.S.) are printing money.”

Crude prices will likely rise to $85 a barrel by the end of the year and to $95 by the end of 2010, Goldman Sachs said in a report.

In other Nymex trading, heating oil rose 1.82 cents to $1.9126 a gallon. Gasoline for November delivery gained 1.42 cents to $1.8132 a gallon. Natural gas for November delivery jumped 2.8 cents to $4.908 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In London, Brent crude rose 58 cents to $71.94 on the ICE Futures exchange.