Dollar drops from 7-month peak, lifts oil

LONDON — The US dollar fell from a seven-month peak on Wednesday, combining with signs of an easing supply glut to help lift oil prices back towards a one-year high. A weaker dollar boosts crude prices, which gained over 1 percent to top $52 a barrel, since it makes fuel cheaper for countries using other currencies. The bounce in oil pushed a key market gauge of long-term euro zone inflation expectations to a multi-month high, keeping bond yields elevated above record lows seen in the wake of Britain›s vote in June to leave the European Union. Wall Street was set to open a touch higher but neither the rise in commodity prices nor a barrage of data confirming China›s economy, the world›s second largest, was stabilizing could prevent a dip in euro zone stocks after a series of poor earnings results. “Oil is a good indicator of expectations for growth next year,» said Frederik Ducrozet, a senior European economist at Swiss wealth manager Pictet. «It is comforting for markets that oil is above $50 a barrel and looking stable at those levels.” Against a basket of major currencies, the US dollar fell 0.2 percent to 97.665, off Monday›s seven-month high of 98.169, after consumer price data showed underlying inflation had moderated.