Oil was mixed in Asian trade on Tuesday after it was pulled down overnight by a strengthening US dollar and hopes of easing tensions in crude-rich Nigeria, analysts said.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for December delivery, rose six cents to $78.74 a barrel.

Brent North Sea crude for December delivery fell four cents to $77.22 a barrel.

Crude prices have eased in recent sessions after hitting $82 last week, its highest level since October 14, 2008, on the back of the slumping US currency.

"The weakness of the US dollar has also played an increasing part in the rise in commodity prices," Capital Economics' analysts said in a report.

"A partial recovery in the dollar is therefore one important downside risk," analysts from the London-based consultancy said.

In Asian trade Tuesday, the dollar climbed to a five-week high of ¥92.33 from ¥92.23 in New York late Monday amid speculation the US Federal Reserve may signal a clearer timeframe for lifting its rock-bottom interest rates.

The euro gained to $1.4870 dollars from $1.4863.

"We view the dollar rally as broad, powerful and having further to run," said Societe Generale analyst Patrick Bennett.

The announcement of an "indefinite ceasefire" by militants in Nigeria partly allayed investor concerns over potential supply disruptions from the African country. Nigeria is the world's eighth-largest oil producer.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) said it had made its decision after the government "expressed its readiness to engage in serious and meaningful dialogue with every group or individual towards achieving a lasting peace in the Niger Delta."

MEND's attacks on the Nigerian oil industry have helped wreak havoc with oil prices on the world market and slashed the nation's output by a third since 2006.

A key demand from MEND is that local communities must benefit from the region's oil wealth.