LONDON: Oil prices rose on Tuesday as the dollar weakened and traders mulled the impact of China's economic slowdown on the global economy.
Brent North Sea crude for delivery in August added 30 cents to stand at $109.39 a barrel in London midday deals.
New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for August, advanced 18 cents to $106.50 compared with Monday's closing level.
"Crude oil prices... posted fresh gains on Tuesday, supported by a softer dollar," said analyst Myrto Sokou at the Sucden Financial brokerage in London.
A weaker greenback can make dollar-priced crude cheaper for buyers using rival currencies, lifting demand for oil.
Oil prices had already pushed higher on Monday despite weak economic data in China and the United States, the two biggest global consumers of crude.
China reported that economic growth slowed to a 7.5-percent pace in the April-June quarter, down from 7.7 percent in the previous three months. Oil prices rose however as the figure met analysts' consensus forecast.
Investors were looking ahead also to testimony by Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke on the US economy.
Focus will turn to Bernanke's views on the US economy and monetary policy Wednesday and Thursday, with dealers hoping for more clues about the future of the Fed's huge bond-buying scheme
"Markets are in particular looking for further signs of whether the central bank has plans to start scaling back on stimulus in later half of this year," Phillip Futures said in a market commentary.
Bernanke has said Fed will maintain its growth-oriented policies "for the foreseeable future" but some analysts expect the $85 billion-a-month stimulus programme to be wound down from the end of the year.
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