The dollar remained solid as oil prices remained well off recent highs and as expectations of another interest rate hike this month from the US Federal Reserve solidified. Oil prices drifted below 67 usd a barrel as industrial powers pledged to release emergency reserves of crude, easing worries of tight supplies in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Last week, oil prices moved to a new record above 70 usd a barrel on exacerbated supply concerns. And US rate hike expectations mounted after respected Fed watcher John Berry said on Bloomberg News that the Fed will raise rates at its next rate-setting meeting on Sept 20. "This morning a Bloomberg article by John Berry suggesting that the Fed will raise rates at the September 20 meeting has helped sentiment on the dollar," said Mansoor Mohi-uddin, currency strategist at UBS. The dollar has been buoyed for most of this year against the euro by a growing yield differential between the US and the 12-nation European single currency zone, but expectations that the Fed may keep its key Fed funds rate unchanged at 3.50 pct following a raft of weak economic data and the extent of the damage caused by Katrina became clear. "The Fed has until Sept 20 to gauge the extent to which output in the Gulf coast moves towards pre-Katrina levels and until then the G7 has shown a concerted effort to counter the supply shock," said Divyang Shah, global strategist at IDEAglobal.com. "This is the first line of defence and if the Fed were to contemplate a pause the post-meeting statement will have to counter likely market expectations that the next move on the funds rate is lower," he added.