Oil advances to 37-month peak as dollar swoons

Oil futures rose to the highest since early December 2014 in American trade, with Brent steadying above $70 while the dollar index plumbed three-year lows, amid a lack of data from the US, the world's largest energy consumer, due to the Martin Luther King holiday. 

As of 06:13 GMT, US West Texas Intermediate rose 0.79% to $64.81 a barrel from the opening of $64.30, while Brent futures due on March 15 climbed 0.53% to $70.24 a barrel from the opening of $69.87, as the dollar index shed 0.66% to 90.37 from the opening of 90.97. 

OPEC Secretary General Muhammad Barkindo said in the energy conference in Abu Dhabi that global demand on oil will rise by about 1.5 million bpd this year. 

Iraqi oil minister Jabbar Alluaibi asserted that it's not acceptable to talk about amendments to the global deal to cut output by 1.8 million bpd until the markets reaches appropriate balance. 

Venezuelan oil minister Manuel Quevedo said earlier today that local production is recovering from its recent lows, adding that 2018 will be "a year of recovery" after output fell to record lows, pointing to an expected output level of 1.9 million bpd. 

From the US, Baker Hughes reported a rise of 10 in the US oil rig count in the week ending June 23 to a total of 752, the highest since the week ending December 8.