(RTTNews) - The price of oil jumped $3 on Monday, soaring above $79 a barrel as the dollar slumped on better-than-expected US retail sales data.

Crude took back last week's losses even as sobering comments from Fed Chair Ben Bernanke could not temper optimism that the economic recovery is underway.

All eyes were on New York City today, where Bernanke said that the central bank is attentive to the implications of the weakening dollar.

However, the dollar failed to sustain its gains as he repeated that the Fed is likely to keep interest rates exceptionally low for "an extended period," putting a cap on the dollar's modest rebound.
Elsewhere, OPEC's president Jose Botelho de Vasconcelos said he was satisfied with current oil prices and the market was still oversupplied.

US retail sales increased by more than expected in the month of October, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Monday, with the growth largely due to a jump in auto sales.

The economic recovery may be picking up steam overseas. Japan's economy expanded 1.2 percent in the third quarter of 2009 compared to the previous three months, the Cabinet Office said on Monday, marking the fastest growth since the first quarter of 2007.

by RTT Staff Writer

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