Crude Oil Slips on OPEC, Stronger Dollar (USO, UUP)

Crude oil prices slipped for the second day in a row Tuesday, as OPEC signaled it will keep output targets steady and the U.S. dollar strengthened. U.S. crude for November delivery is down 48 cents, or 0.6%, to $81.73 per barrel. According to a Reuters report, "The U.S. dollar seesawed near flat against the euro after strengthening earlier on a short-covering bounce as investors awaited the Fed minutes for clues on the central bank's stance toward purchasing more assets to stimulate the economy." "The stronger dollar is weighing on crude prices," Stephen Schork, president at the Schork Group in Villanova, Pennsylvania told the news service. The PowerShares US Dollar Index

is up slightly this afternoon, to $22.50. Despite oil's slide, the United States Oil Fund ETF

is up 0.5%, to $35.79. The Reuters report notes that "Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said he was happy with the oil market as he arrived in Vienna on Monday for Thursday's meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, the first in seven months." He described crude prices between $70 and $80 as "ideal."