Aug 25. In global petroleum market headlines, oil prices were steady Monday in Asia above USD 114 a barrel as a strengthening dollar offset continuing tensions between the U.S. and Russian over the conflict in Georgia. Light, sweet crude for October delivery was down 5 cents at USD 114.54 a barrel in electronic trading on NYMEX by midday in Singapore. The contract tumbled USD 6.59 on Friday to settle at USD 114.59 a barrel. In London, October Brent crude rose 22 cents to USD 114.10 a barrel. Speaking at an economic conference Friday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said he would "act as necessary" to control inflation comments which helped strengthen the dollar against rival currencies. As we have noted before, a falling dollar encourages selling from investors who bought crude oil and other commodities as a hedge against inflation and weakness in the U.S. currency. Supporting oil prices are ongoing tensions between Russia and the U.S. over Russia's brief war in the former Soviet republic Georgia. Russia pulled the bulk of its troops and tanks out Friday under a cease-fire agreement, but built up its forces in and around South Ossetia and Abkhazia, another separatist region. They also left other military posts at locations inside Georgia proper. A U.S. Navy destroyer loaded with humanitarian aid reached Georgia's Black Sea port of Batumi on Sunday, a move that a Russian general suggested would worsen tensions. The war broke out on August 7 as Georgia launched a massive artillery barrage targeting the Russian-backed separatist province of South Ossetia. Russian forces repelled the offensive and drove deep into Georgia, taking crucial positions across the country. The U.S. and EU say both those moves violated Russia's commitments, while Russia is convinced it was obliged to act in defense of its citizens. Moving forward, we expect to see more downside in the short term due to the rising dollar.