SINGAPORE (Commodity Online) : Global oil prices dropped below $73 a barrel in Asian trade Tuesday mainly after the dollar gained strength amid weak economic trends.

Light sweet crude for October delivery was seen trading at $72.75 a barrel at 11.30 a.m Singapore time while Brent crude for October was at $73.28 a barrel in London.

The greenback regained strength against most major currencies Tuesday as most of Asia-pacific stocks were trading in a negative territory.

The dollar and yen typically strengthen in times of stock market slide as their safe haven status makes the currencies more attractive to investors

Greenback touched a 6-week high of 1.2621 against the common unit of Europe before while against the pound, the dollar appreciated 1.2 percent to reach nearly a 1-month high of 1.5429.

In other Nymex trading in September contracts, heating oil rose 0.21 cent to $1.958 a gallon and natural gas added 0.7 cent to 4.073 per 1,000 cubic feet. Gasoline eased 0.05 cent to $1.881 a gallon.

The American Petroleum Institute will publish industry inventory figures for the week ended August later Tuesday, followed by an Energy Information Administration stockpiles and demand report on Wednesday.

On Monday, oil prices fell for the fourth consecutive session, hitting near six-week lows amid persistent worries that weakening growth in the United States could curtail energy demand.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in October, dropped 72 cents to $73.10 a barrel while Brent crude for October ended at $73.62 per barrel.