Oil prices recovered to above $73 a barrel today after recording the biggest decline since July last year.
For March delivery, US crude increased by 34¢ to $73.48 a barrel at 7:19am GMT, while London ICE Brent rose by 15¢ to $72.28 a barrel, reports Reuters.
The dollar index reached its highest value in seven months because of increasing apprehensions over fiscal problems in south European nations.
Oil prices are still 50% less than July 2008's record price of $147 a barrel and have fallen by $11 since 11 January when prices reached $84 a barrel.
