•Crude futures moved lower on Tuesday, retreating from Monday's fresh records as the US dollar recovered from its all-time low. However, sentiment remained bullish on technical factors as well as ongoing tensions between Russia and Ukraine surrounding the latest gas dispute.

•Moreover, expectations that OPEC is likely to leave its output unchanged at its Vienna meeting, could also lend some support to prices. "There is not much going on this morning...however, I think the stock market in the US will head lower this afternoon so I would not be surprised if crude followed on profit taking," a London-based broker said.

•Analysts also stressed that the close trading relationship between the dollar and oil prices still remains very much relevant for the days ahead. "We continue to view dollar value against the euro as a particular focus of attention amongst the broad based global institutional investment entities," energy consultant Jim Ritterbusch said in a report Monday. "In addition to providing portfolio diversity and a partial hedge against further weakness in the dollar, international institutional traders are still looking to the commodity sector as an alternative to weakening equity markets," he added.

Updated: March 4, 2008