Bloomberg Oil Falls a Second Day as Rising Dollar Dulls Hedging Interest

June 15 (Bloomberg) -- Oil fell for a second day as the dollar rose the most against the euro since April, limiting investors’ need to use commodities as an inflation hedge.

Crude declined as the U.S. currency rose to its strongest against the euro since May 21 after Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said the nation has full confidence in the dollar. Oil also weakened as a report showed manufacturing in the New York region contracted for a 14th month and equities retreated in the U.S., Europe and Asia.

“Crude is falling in response to the equities and the strengthening of the dollar,” said Jim Ritterbusch, president of Ritterbusch & Associates, a Galena, Illinois, energy consultant. “As long as the dollar stays strong, it will pressure oil, and weakness in equities accentuates that selling.”

Crude oil for July delivery lost $1.42, or 2 percent, to settle at $70.62 a barrel at 2:42 p.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It fell as much as 3.4 percent to $69.58, the lowest since June 9. Oil reached $73.23 on June 11, the highest in seven months.

The U.S. Dollar Index, which tracks the currency against six others, rose 1.3 percent to 81.178 at 3:33 p.m. in New York, the highest since June 9. The dollar index trades on ICE Futures in New York. It rose 1.6 percent against the euro to $1.3786 at 3:45 p.m. in New York from $1.4024 June 12. more...