Oil steadied above $64 on Monday, holding near a three-month high after kicking off the new year with a fresh infusion of investor funds and renewed fears over political instability in the Middle East. U.S. February light crude was up 8 cents at $64.29 a barrel. On Friday, prices hit a session peak of $64.45 a barrel, their highest since October 12. London Brent crude was down 2 cents at $62.70 a barrel. Oil prices have zoomed more than $6 higher since the last week of 2005, led primarily by a buying spree in the commodities market where two years of stellar returns as well as a weakening U.S. dollar have whetted investors' appetites. "As the U.S. dollar enters into secular decline, investors will be looking at portfolio hedges with real assets like oil and gold," said Michael Coleman, managing director of Singapore's Aisling Analytics, a hedge fund manager. The dollar touched its lowest level against the yen in about three months on Monday, hit by expectations that U.S. interest rates will not rise much further.