crude oil

(RTTNews) - Crude oil prices inched lower on Monday in U.S. trading, giving back its gains from the previous session. Trading was light with U.S. stock markets closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Light sweet crude dropped to $34.60 per barrel, down $1.91 for the session. The February contract expires after Tuesday''s close with March taking over as the front-month contract. The US dollar advanced against its most major counterparts during New York morning deals on Monday. Gold usually moves opposite the dollar because of the precious metal''s hedge appeal. The greenback climbed to 1-month high against the Swiss franc and 2-week high versus the British pound during the same time. There was no major economic data out of the U.S. Traders instead looked ahead to the schedule later in the week. Tuesday will bring an ABC consumer confidence report. On Thursday, traders will look for housing starts and building permits data for December as well as the weekly jobless claims report. Also on Tuesday, Barack Obama will officially be sworn in as the 44th president of the United States. The Energy Department will release its weekly inventory report on Thursday, a day later than usual because of Monday''s holiday and Tuesday''s Inauguration Day. Last week''s data showed crude oil stockpiles increased 1.2 million barrels from the previous week, the sixth straight weekly build. Gasoline inventories increased by 2.1 million barrels, while distillate fuel inventories surged by 6.4 million barrels. Light sweet crude oil for February finished Friday''s session at $36.51, up $1.11 on the session. Prices had hit as low as $34.18 before turning to the upside.For comments and feedback: contact editorial@rttnews.comCopyright(c) 2009 RealTimeTraders.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved