Oil falls as U.S. summer gasoline fears ease

Qatari Oil Minister Abdullah al-Attiyah said price gains in recent months were due to speculators more than fundamentals, and the producer group was unlikely to increase output soon.

"We believe that there is not fundamentals in the price. We believe (those) who move the market today, (are) merely speculators. We see their strong influence in the commodities market," he said.

U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday laid out his vision for reshaping U.S. financial regulation, including imposing regulation on over-the-counter derivatives.

The dollar weakened against the euro and yen as an unexpectedly small rise in U.S. inflation strengthened expectations that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates low for some time.

The Nasdaq rose more than 1 percent as investors snapped up technology shares after a two-day sell-off, while both the Dow and the S&P 500 clung to modest gains as healthcare shares advanced. <.N>

(Reporting by Richard Valdmanis, Matthew Robinson, Gene Ramos and Robert Gibbons in New York; Joe Brock and Alex Lawler in London; Editing by David Gregorio)