Oil falls below $81 on stronger dollar (AP) (09-03-2010)

Oil prices tumbled to below $81 a barrel Tuesday, as a stronger dollar and profit taking after 1 month gains supported by growing investor optimism about global economic growth.

By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark crude for April delivery was down $1.40 to $80.47 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 37 cents to settle at $81.87 on Monday.

The euro fell to $1.3556 on Tuesday from $1.3633 late Monday in New York, while the British pound was lower at $1.4949 from $1.5072.

The American Petroleum Institute releases its supply report late Tuesday while the Energy Information Agency's data is due Wednesday.

In other Nymex trading in April contracts, heating oil fell 2.96 cents to $2.0759 a gallon, and gasoline dropped 4.02 cents to $2.2490 a gallon. Natural gas was up 1 cent at $4.537 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In London, Brent crude was down $1.45 at $79.02 on the ICE futures exchange.

Source: AP