Oil prices steadied Wednesday as the dollar rebounded from 15-month lows, countering data showing strong demand growth from No. 2 consumer China.

As more investors pile money into exchange-traded funds, they are finding out that some of them are not what they're cracked up to be.

World energy use will rise rapidly over the next 20 years, increasing costs and greenhouse gases unless a deal is reached to curb carbon dioxide emissions, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Tuesday.

Oil prices fell Tuesday as the dollar firmed and energy companies began restoring offshore operations disrupted by Tropical Storm Ida.

China will lift gasoline and diesel prices by around 7 percent from 1600 GMT on Monday to reflect the rising cost of crude oil, taking pump prices to their highest ever, a government official told Reuters on Monday.

Global stocks rose and the dollar fell on Monday after the Group of 20 pledged to keep stimulus in place until recovery was assured. But experts told CNBC gold is still king and the dollar will be on the defensive as more investors look towards currencies such as the Australian dollar.

Oil prices rose more than 2 percent Monday after Tropical Storm Ida forced the shut in of U.S. oil and gas production, helping to support prices.

Global stocks were mostly higher Friday ahead of the U.S. jobs report for October. But experts told CNBC they are skeptical of the current stock rally and see a bubble forming in all asset classes.

Four former dealers at UBS plundered customer accounts to trade and dumped the resulting losses on them, Britain's financial regulator said, further denting the battered Swiss bank's reputation.

Oil prices fell nearly 3 percent on Friday after data showed the U.S. jobless rate jumped to a 26-1/2-year high of 10.2 percent in October, raising concerns about a potential rebound in fuel demand.

Oil prices fell 1 percent on Thursday, as doubts about the pace of economic recovery dented optimism toward a rebound in fuel demand.

China should unshackle the yuan from its dollar peg and follow Singapore's lead in targeting a basket of currencies to determine its exchange rate, Merrill Lynch's China economist said on Wednesday.

Global stocks were in the green on Wednesday ahead of the Federal Open Monetary Committee's interest-rate announcement. Economists expect the U.S. central bank to keep interest rates low "for an extended period," even as the economy shows signs of improving.

Spot gold ran to a record high above $1,090 per ounce on Wednesday, latching on to a weaker dollar with continued support from the IMF's sale of gold to India's central bank.

Crude oil has replaced the dollar as the new reserve currency, according to Kevin Kerr, president & chief trading officer for Kerr Trading International.