Oil fell today as a firmer dollar speculation that Opec could raise output at a meeting in February weighed on prices.
US light, sweet crude for January delivery, which expires tomorrow, was down $1.09 to $90.18 a barrel by 1613 GMT. London Brent crude for February delivery was down 74 cents at $90.95 a barrel.
Prices slipped after Algeria's oil minister Chakib Khelil said Opec might increase oil output at a February meeting if the market needed more oil.
Khelil, who will be Opec's president in 2008, also said the group might not change output if the winter is not harsh and the US economy weakens further.
Crude oil prices, which currently have an inverse relationship to the dollar, had retreated ealier as the dollar reached fresh two-month highs against a basket of currencies. The stronger dollar also hit gold, which touched its lowest level in about two weeks.
But wheat prices surged above $10 for the first time, due to shrinking world supplies, adding to inflationary concerns that hit equity markets last week and again today.
Oil is down about $10 a barrel from record highs of $99.29 a barrel, reached on November 21. The weak dollar, plus fears of a supply crunch over the winter and political tensions in the Middle East, helped drive the price to record peaks.
The snowstorm sweeping into New England in the northeast of the United States initially lent support to prices, which had fallen for two days in succession.