AFP
Oil prices dived on Friday as the strengthening US currency dampened investor sentiment for dollar-priced crude.
New York's main contract, light sweet crude for April delivery, slumped $US1.52 to $US80.68 a barrel after briefly sinking below the psychological barrier of $US80.
London's Brent North Sea crude for May delivery plunged $US1.60 to $US79.88.
The dollar jumped against the euro on Friday as investors sought the safe-haven greenback on uncertainty over international assistance for debt-plagued Greece.
As the financial turmoil gripping Greece and the eurozone's struggles to forge a common position on the crisis weighed on world markets, Germany said it was open to International Monetary Fund aid for the crisis-hit country.
"The German government does not rule out aid from the IMF if Greece requests it," German Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm said, describing the creation of a European version of the fund as a longer term objective.
"Germany (is) basically telling Greece to take the "Tin Cup" tour to the IMF... the euro and pound are pressured to the dollar's benefit and you have as good reasons as any to take some profits at the end of an up week," said Mike Fitzpatrick, vice-president of MF Global.
But he said the OPEC oil cartel's decision to leave production levels unchanged and tentative signs of improvement in US economic data should keep oil supported.
The euro dived as low as $US1.3503 on Friday, down from $US1.3603 in late New York trading on Thursday.
A stronger US unit makes dollar-denominated crude more expensive for buyers using weaker currencies and so tends to dampen oil demand and prices.
Prices fell hard this week as traders tracked the dollar and Greek debt concerns, and shrugged off a widely-expected decision from the 12-nation OPEC oil cartel to maintain output levels.
OPEC left its output ceiling unchanged at 24.84 million barrels a day at a meeting in Vienna on Wednesday, citing uncertainty in the macroeconomic environment and global oil demand.
The cartel, which pumps 40 per cent of world oil, said it would review the economic situation at its next scheduled meeting on October 14.
Also on Wednesday, the US Department of Energy said stockpiles of distillates, including diesel and heating fuel, fell more than expected, by 1.5 million barrels, in the week ending March 12.
Petrol inventories sank 1.7 million barrels, topping forecasts.
In addition, fears that Beijing will take more steps to cool the booming Chinese economy also hit sentiment this week because China is the second biggest global oil consuming nation after the United States.
