Oil edges down on stronger dollar

U.S. oil price edged down on Monday as the dollar strengthened after Japan's latest intervention. The dollar rose more than 3 percent to its three-month high against the yen Monday after Japan's new round of intervention. And the euro dropped sharply against the dollar. The dollar index, tracking the greenback's performance against a basket of currencies, rose about 1.5 percent. Stronger dollar pressured the dollar-denominated crude oil. MF Global Holdings, a futures broker, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, triggering caution across the markets. Traders trimmed positions. And the trading volumes were low, with U.S. WTI about 70 percent below its 30-day average and Brent nearly 50 percent below its 30-day average. Crude analysts predicted markets would see low volume through the week as the European debt worries continued and investors awaited the Federal Reserve's new direction in monetary policy. Light, sweet crude for December delivery dropped 13 cents, or 0. 14 percent to settle at 93.19 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. But it still posted the biggest monthly gain of 17.66 percent in more than two years. In London, Brent crude for December delivery last traded flat around 110 dollars a barrel, on track to post a 6 percent monthly gain, the biggest increase since April.