NEW YORK – Oil is sliding nearly 3 percent on a stronger dollar.
Benchmark crude lost $2.80 at $97.29 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Oil is priced in dollars, and it tends to fall as the dollar rises and makes crude more expensive for investors holding foreign money. The U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the dollar against other major currencies, rose 0.7 percent in morning trading.
Meanwhile, gasoline pump prices dropped nearly a penny to a new national average of $3.843 per gallon.
AP