Oil rose above $68 a barrel on Tuesday, reversing earlier losses, supported by a weaker dollar and ahead of inventory data expected to show a fall in crude stocks.

US crude for August was up 58 cents at $68.08, by 1212 GMT, off an earlier low of $66.37. US crude for July delivery expired on Monday, settling down $2.62 at $66.93 a barrel. London Brent crude rose 48 cents to $67.46.

The dollar fell more than 0.5 per cent against a basket of currencies yesterday. A lower dollar can strengthen commodities denominated in the currency.

Oil markets risk another speculative bubble unless the financial sector is reformed and transparency increased, but prices are not yet a threat to economic recovery, the EU and the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) said after joint talks on Tuesday.

“The 2008 bubble could be repeated if adequate regulatory reforms, including greater transparency, (are) not made as part of an overall reshaping of the global financial sector,” the European Union said in a statement issued following the talks in Vienna.

(Reuters & Gulf News)