17 Feb 2010

Price of oil up

2:01 pm on 17 February 2010

The price of oil rose sharply on Tuesday as the dollar weakened against the pound and the euro.

US light crude rose $US3.06 to $US77.19 per barrel at one point - its biggest daily rise in more than four months. It finished the day at $US77.01.

Meanwhile, London Brent settled up $US3.17 at $75.68 per barrel.

The dollar was down more than a cent against the euro to $US1.3766. Against the pound, it fell to $US1.5789.

The BBC reports the euro has weakened due to concerns about high levels of debt among some European governments, most notably Greece.