In Asia Oil rises to near $74

Oil prices claret to near $74 a keg Tuesday moment Asia over investors eyed a weakening U. S. dollar and looked to products for protection censure possible aggrandizement.
Benchmark crude for November delivery was up 52 cents at $73. 79 by behind afternoon Singapore life mark electronic trading on the Modernistic York Mercantile Exchange. The contract gained $1. 50 to settle at $73. 27 on Monday amid expectations of stronger demand during the U. S. winter.

" We expect commodity prices to be heading north over the next 12 months as a hedge against inflation, " said Melvyn Boey, deputy director of Asian equity research for Bank of America Merrill Lynch. " That includes oil and gold, down to soft commodities such as palm. "

The euro fell to $1. 4771 from $1. 4778 and the dollar rose to 90. 01 yen from 89. 80 in late Asia trading.

" The U. S. dollar has weakened considerably over the last four weeks and we don ' t expect that trend to reverse, " Boey said. " If you look at it, they ( the U. S. ) are printing money. "

Crude prices will likely rise to $85 a barrel by the end of the year and to $95 by the end of 2010, Goldman Sachs said in a report.

In other Nymex trading, heating oil rose 1. 82 cents to $1. 9126 a gallon. Gasoline for November delivery gained 1. 42 cents to $1. 8132 a gallon. Natural gas for November delivery jumped 2. 8 cents to $4. 908 per 1, 000 cubic feet.

In London, Brent crude rose 58 cents to $71. 94 on the ICE Futures exchange.