Oil prices flat after rebound

Oil prices were flat on Tuesday, bouncing back from an early slide as the dollar fell to a one-week low, which encouraged buying of dollar-denominated crude at session lows. Global benchmark Brent futures hit a two-month low early, but by 2:02 p.m. EST (1902 GMT), Brent LCOc1 rose 11 cents to $62.70 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures CLc1 were down 9 cents at $59.20 a barrel.

USD shows mixed performance at the beginning of the week

The dollar is turning in a mixed performance against its major rivals Monday afternoon, but remains little changed overall. The lack of U.S. economic data is keeping a number of investors on the sidelines at the start of the new trading week. Things will begin to pick up on the economic front starting Wednesday. Retail sales and the consumer price index are set to be released Wednesday morning, while weekly jobless claims, the producer price index and industrial production will follow on Thursday.

USD - Major events in the week ahead

Events that marked the week:

On Monday ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI data was published. The NMI® registered 59.9 percent, which is 3.9 percentage points higher than the seasonally adjusted December reading of 56 percent. This represents continued growth in the non-manufacturing sector at a faster rate. The Non-Manufacturing Business Activity Index increased to 59.8 percent, 2 percentage points higher than the seasonally adjusted December reading of 57.8 percent, reflecting growth for the 102nd consecutive month, at a faster rate in January. The New Orders Index registered 62.7 percent, 8.2 percentage points higher than the seasonally adjusted reading of 54.5 percent in December.

Unemployment Claims decreased to 221,000

In the week ending February 3, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 221,000, a decrease of 9,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 230,000. The 4-week moving average was 224,500, a decrease of 10,000 from the previous week's unrevised average of 234,500. This is the lowest level for this average since March 10, 1973 when it was 222,000.