Oil slips as dollar rises ahead of Greek vote

Brent slipped under $105 on Monday, extending the previous week's losses, as the US dollar gained ahead of a vote by Greece to clear unpopular fiscal austerity measures.
The market is positioning itself ahead of economic data from the United States that is expected to show slowing growth. Prices are also under pressure on expectations Gulf exporters would keep crude supplies steady despite a surprise release of emergency stocks.
ICE Brent crude for August fell 73 cents to $104.39 a barrel by 0236 GMT, after the contract posted two straight weeks of losses. US crude declined 55 cents to $90.61 a barrel, after slipping as low as $90.40.
'The market is trying to pre-empt Greece and worries in the West,' Jonathan Barratt, managing director of Commodity Broking Services in Sydney.
Athens will vote on Wednesday the framework austerity package on tax increases and spending cuts, and then on its implementation on Thursday. It is critical for the country to pass the package to secure funding from international lenders to avert a sovereign default.
The US dollar index, which measures the greenback's value against a basket of major currencies, was trading above a downward trendline that began a year ago. It was up 0.23 percent by 0236 GMT to 75.843 , having risen 4 percent since May.
Brent crude prices fell 2 percent on Friday, dropping 7 percent for the week. The contract's premium to US crude was at $13.79, down from a record of over $23 hit on June 15, after the International Energy Agency (IEA) surprised the market with a decision to release 6 million barrels of oil from strategic reserves for the third time in history to replace Libyan supply.
The IEA's decision to release 2 million barrels per day over 30 days is more than the daily loss of Libya's 1.2 million bpd exports, and may help ease concerns that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) will struggle to meet demand as consumption from emerging nations surges.
'It also releases pressure on Opec,' Barratt said. 'It's more of a genuine consensus to lower import prices to avoid economic slowdown.'
Gulf oil exporters are unlikely to cut production in response to the International Energy Agency (IEA) releasing emergency stocks because demand for their crude is strong, two Gulf Opec delegates said on Sunday. The group failed to agree on raising output on June 8. -Reuters

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