SINGAPORE-- Oil was mixed in Asian trade Tuesday as a weak dollar continued to provide underlying support to prices, analysts said.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for January delivery was down four cents to 77.52 dollars a barrel.

Brent North Sea crude for January delivery gained seven cents 77.53 dollars.

Both contracts had closed firmed Monday on the back of the weaker US dollar which had boosted investor appetite for riskier but higher-yielding assets such as oil.

"The soft US dollar and firmer equity markets supported oil prices," analysts from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia said in a report.

For dollar-priced crude, a weaker US currency means it is now cheaper for holders of foreign units to buy the commodity.

The dollar came under fresh selling pressure in reaction to comments over the weekend by Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis chief James Bullard that he would prefer to keep
the central bank's asset-buying program active beyond its current cut-off date.

An extension of the program, widely considered a negative factor for the US currency, would give more flexibility to US policymakers, he said.

In Asian trade Tuesday, the euro traded at 1.4946 dollars compared with 1.4963 in New York late Monday.