SINGAPORE (AP) - Oil prices hovered near $100 a barrel Thursday in Asia as traders eyed mixed signs about U.S. gasoline demand and a volatile dollar. Benchmark crude for June delivery was up 3 cents to $100.13 a barrel at midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent crude for July delivery was up 15 cents to $112.45 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange. Oil markets have been following the value of the dollar most days recently. A weaker dollar makes oil less expensive for investors with other currencies and usually helps push crude higher, while a stronger U.S. currency tends to lead commodities lower. The euro rose slightly to $1.4301 on Thursday from $1.4296 late Wednesday while the dollar slid to 81.56 yen from 81.69 yen. "It would appear the stage is set for a further crude price advance back toward the $104 area, however, such an up-move will be highly contingent on additional dollar weakening," Ritterbusch and Associates said in a report. Traders are struggling to gauge the strength of U.S. crude and gasoline demand heading into the summer driving season. On Wednesday, oil rose $3.19, or 3.3 percent, to settle at $100.10 after the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration said crude supplies fell 15,000 barrels while analysts surveyed by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos. had predicted an increase of 500,000 barrels. However, gasoline inventories inched higher and earlier this week, MasterCard SpendingPulse's weekly survey of retail gas demand showed a drop for the eighth straight week. In other Nymex trading in June contracts, heating oil fell 0.1 cent to $2.90 a gallon and gasoline dropped 0.7 cent to $2.95 a gallon. Natural gas futures slid 1 cent to $4.19 per 1,000 cubic feet.
