Futures Pros – Crude oil futures were down on Tuesday, falling to hit a daily low, as the U.S. dollar strengthened against the euro and amid speculation China would implement fresh measures to slow its rapidly growing economy. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in January traded at USD 85.36 a barrel during European morning trade, falling 0.40%. It earlier fell to a daily low of USD 84.89 a barrel. The dollar strengthened against the euro amid ongoing fears that the euro zone’s sovereign debt crisis would spread to other indebted euro zone nations, such as Spain and Portugal. The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, gained 0.45% during European morning trade. Dollar-denominated oil futures contracts tend to fall when the dollar rises, as this makes oil more expensive for buyers in other currencies. Meanwhile, ongoing speculation that China would raise its benchmark interest rate in an effort to curb inflation and cool its rapidly growing economy also weighed on crude oil prices. Global financial service provider Deutsche Bank said in a report earlier in the day that, “Anything that provides evidence of a slowing Chinese economy is likely to be reflected in oil-demand estimates.” The report added, “It would also tend to moderate bullish views for where oil prices will be in 2011.” China is the world’s second-largest oil consumer, with the International Energy Agency forecasting that China will account for approximately 40% of global oil demand growth in 2010-11. Elsewhere, natural gas futures for January delivery eased up 0.07% to trade at USD 4.214 per million British thermal units during European morning trade.

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