LONDON, Nov 17, 2009 (AFP) - World oil prices fell slightly on Tuesday after recent gains which were spurred by a weak dollar and hopes of improved energy demand amid a global recovery, analysts said.
New York's main contract, light sweet crude for December delivery eased 29 cents to 78.61 dollars a barrel.
Brent North Sea crude for January delivery dipped 24 cents to 78.52 dollars per barrel.
Crude futures had climbed on Monday amid a weak dollar and rising demand expectations boosted by growth prospects, including in Japan, the world's second largest economy.
A lower greenback makes dollar-denominated commodities -- like gold and crude oil -- cheaper for buyers using stronger currencies. That tends to stimulate demand and prices.
Crude was also boosted on Monday after data released Monday showed that the Japanese economy expanded 1.2 percent in the July-September period. It was the second straight quarter of expansion.
Meanwhile, OPEC president Jose Maria Botelho de Vasconcelos signalled that 75-80 dollar oil was an adequate level to allow for a global economic recovery.
"Seventy-five to 80 dollars a barrel is a good price... for the recovery of the world economy," de Vasconcelos, who is also Angola's oil minister, said at a Gulf energy security conference in Abu Dhabi.
The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) members pump about 40 percent of the world's oil.
