Oil Prices Near $55 on Winter, Dollar Woes

Oil prices surged toward $55 on Tuesday as cold weather swept into the U.S. Northeast and the dollar weakened.

Growing signals that OPEC (search) will not increase output at its meeting in Iran next week also bolstered prices.

U.S. light crude traded up 91 cents to $54.80 a barrel, less than a dollar from the contract all-time high of $55.67. London’s Brent crude rose 91 cents to equal its all-time high of $53 a barrel.