LONDON (SHARECAST) - Oil futures fell below $79 a barrel on Monday as the dollar made headway against major currencies and amid persistent worries about buoyant supplies and weak demand. Oil for December delivery fell $1.82 to settle at $78.68 a barrel in New York. Interest in oil pushed crude to a one-year high of $82 a barrel last, following a three-day rally, but by Monday traders embarked on a broad commodities sell-off. A weak session on Wall Street also weighed on appetite for oil following downgrades in banking stocks by Dick Bove, the US Banking analyst. The move triggered fresh concern about the financial sector and a wave of profit taking among financial stocks. It also sparked dollar short-covering as risk aversion resumed. The stronger dollar prompted a broad commodities sell-off, which also included gold. Gold for December settled at $1,042.8 an ounce down $13.60 in New York. December silver fell 63 cents to $17.10 an ounce and copper for December delivery fell 2 cents to $3.011 a pound.

Source