Crude oil fluctuated as the Dow Jones Industrial Average retreated from a two-week high and the dollar gained against the euro.

Oil traded in a 95 cent range as U.S. equities slipped after Johnson & Johnson recalled more medicine and an analyst’s downgrade dragged down chipmakers. The U.S. currency appreciated 0.6 percent against the euro, signaling that investor demand for raw materials will decline.

“We’re going to be looking at the equities and the dollar for direction here,” said an analyst and broker at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut. “The fundamentals remain weak and the economic news is mixed at best. The market is directionless at the moment.”

Crude oil for August delivery rose 2 cents to $75.46 a barrel at 9:15 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures touched $76 yesterday, the highest intraday price since June 30.

Oil is set for a 4.6 percent increase this week, the most since the five days ended June 18.

“The price isn’t reflective of the economy,” said vice president of energy at MF Global in New York. “We had a good run-up above $75, but once we neared $76 the skepticism came back into the market.”

Brent crude for August settlement climbed 7 cents to $74.78 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange.

The global economy will grow 4.6 percent in 2010, the biggest expansion since 2007, the International Monetary Fund said on July 7 in revisions to its World Economic Outlook.

Oil may rise next week after the IMF upgraded its global economic outlook and as U.S. supplies dropped to a two-month low, a Bloomberg News survey showed.

Twenty of 38 analysts and traders, or 53 percent, forecast crude will increase through July 16. Ten respondents, or 26 percent, predicted futures will be little changed and eight saw a decrease. Last week 53 percent of survey respondents forecast a price decline.