SINGAPORE (Commodity Online) : Global oil prices extended overnight dip in Asian trade Wednesday after investors took profit from a recent rally while a strong dollar also hit the black gold. Light sweet crude for February delivery was seen trading at $89.18 a barrel at 12.00 noon Singapore time while Brent crude for February settlement was at $93.01 a barrel in London. In other Nymex trading in February contracts, heating oil slid 0.6 cent to $2.50 a gallon while gasoline futures skidded 1.7 cent to $2.40 per gallon. February natural gas futures fell 6.7 cents to $4.60 per 1,000 cubic feet. Analysts said the black gold lost momentum as a rising dollar prompted traders to sell contracts to secure profits and as U.S. gasoline inventories increased, signaling demand may be slow in catching up to a strengthening economy. The American Petroleum Institute said gains in US fuel stockpiles outpaced a drop in the nation's crude inventories during the last week of 2010. Crude supplies have fallen for five weeks, but are still above levels from the previous year. US Energy Department's Energy Information Administration reports its weekly supply data later Wednesday. The Dollar Index, used by IntercontinentalExchange Inc. to track the greenback against the currencies of six U.S. trading partners, climbed for a third day, adding 0.2 percent to 79.554. A strong dollar tends to curb investor demand for raw materials. On Tuesday, New York's main contract, light sweet crude for February delivery, dived $2.17 to $89.38 per barrel while Brent North Sea crude for February sank $1.31 to $93.53 in London trade. Oil market was also hampered by a late rebound in the dollar, which makes dollar-priced crude more expensive for buyers using weaker currencies. In turn, that tends to dent demand and prices.

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