Oil prices climbed Tuesday as the dollar weakened and new figures showed energy demand for crude may be growing in China. Benchmark crude for January delivery rose $1.09 to settle at $78.37 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent crude for January delivery gained 88 cents to settle at $79.35 on the ICE Futures exchange. In other Nymex trading in January contracts, heating oil rose 3.01 cents to settle at $2.0780 and gasoline gained 3.08 cents to settle at $2.0423. Natural gas lost 8.6 cents to settle at $4.762 per 1,000 cubic feet. Oil climbed $1.23 to $77.28 Monday on news that Iran had detained five British sailors, which could increase the chance of a standoff between a major crude exporter and Western powers. The dollar slid against most major currencies Tuesday on promising US economic reports and the Bank of Japan's decision to provide markets with more liquidity. The 16-nation euro bought $1.5105 in afternoon trading in New York, up from the $1.4993 late Monday. The dollar edged up to 86.58 Japanese yen from 86.29, while the British pound jumped to $1.6627 from $1.6424. The ICE Futures US dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of foreign currencies, fell 0.7 percent.
