Oil futures rise

Reuters

Singapore

Crude oil futures rose early on Tuesday, pushed up by a weaker dollar and a flood of new cash into the market, but analysts warned that fundamentals remain weak as a producer race for customers heats up in the ME.

Front-month Brent crude futures were trading at $44.84 per barrel at 0054 GMT, up 36 cents from their last settlement, and U.S. crude futures gained 39 cents at $43.03.

Futures traders said prices had been lifted by a weaker dollar overnight, which potentially spurs demand from fuel importers using other currencies than the greenback, in which crude is traded.  A rush of new investment into crude futures was also pushing up prices as speculators raised their holdings of Brent futures to a record high.  Yet in physical markets, analysts warned of more supply as Saudi Arabia and Iran seemingly ramp up output in a race for customers, further flooding the market with supplies that already stand at 1 million to 2 million barrels of crude a day in excess of demand.