London (Platts)--16Feb2010/638 am EST/1138 GMT

Crude futures were higher during morning trade as a weaker dollar and firmer equity markets helped support the crude complex, sources said.

The market remained heavily focused on the European Union and in particular on the possible resolution of the Greek debt crisis, sources said.

At 11:09 GMT, the front month ICE Brent contract traded at $73.92/barrel, a $1.39 rise. The NYMEX WTI contract traded at $75.27/b, a $1.14 rise.

In the currency markets the dollar edged lower to trade at 80.153 index points on the ICE index, a 0.179 overnight fall.

"Currency markets are still waiting for more details with respect to the Greek rescue package, and in this regard, we may get something later on Tuesday when European finance ministers are scheduled to meet," energy analyst Edward Meir said in an MF Global report.

"In the meantime, the dialogue between the EU and Greece is starting to get nastier, with the EU blaming questionable Greek swap deals for covering up the true nature of the country's finances and demanding steep cuts in spending, while the Greeks are claiming that the swap transactions were perfectly legal at the time, and asking for understanding as well as more help," Meir said.

--George Johnson, george_johnson@platts.com