Oil ends lower, pulled by Wall Street

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Oil prices fell slightly Monday as lower U.S. stocks and a higher dollar pushed crude off recent highs.

Light, sweet crude for July delivery fell 35 cents to settle at $68.09. Prices had fallen to a low of $66.78 earlier in the session and reached as high as $68.95.

The oil market has tended to follow stocks recently, as crude investors look to the broader markets to try to gauge when fuel demand will rebound.

U.S. stocks fell in Monday's session, with the Dow Jones industrial average (INDU), the S&P 500 (SPX) and the Nasdaq composite (COMP) all down about 1%. A lower stock market tends to send investors to safe-haven Treasurys.

Oil closed lower Friday, after briefly rising to a 6-month high above $70 a barrel, as investors digested the government's latest employment report. May's job losses were much smaller than forecast and were the fewest since September.

Crude investors pay particular attention to data from the United States, because it is the world's largest consumer of energy.

The employment report pushed the dollar higher on Friday, and the greenback extended gains Monday.

The price of oil often falls when the buck rises, because crude is priced in dollars around the world. When the dollar strengthens, oil becomes more expensive in other currencies.

OPEC: Several countries in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries -- whose members produce about 40% of the world's crude -- have said $75-$80 per barrel is a fair level for oil prices, according to Reuters.

OPEC members have promised to cut 4.2 million barrels a day of oil from September production levels. On Sunday, the Venezuelan oil minister said member countries were complying with 86% of promised cuts.

Gasoline: The national average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline increased to $2.619, up 0.6 cents from the previous day's price of $2.613, according to a daily survey conducted for motorist group AAA.

This is the 41st consecutive day of increases, during which time the average price of gas has increased 57.1 cents or 27.8%.