U.S. crude futures settle higher, break 3-day skid

NEW YORK Feb 8 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures settled nearly 1 percent higher on Monday as cold weather, a weaker dollar and geopolitical concerns helped oil break a string of three straight losing sessions.

Crude slumped below the $70 level on Friday, sliding to $69.50, the lowest price since the Dec. 15 intraday low of $69.31.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, March crude CLH0 rose 70 cents, or 0.98 percent, to settle at $71.89 a barrel, trading from $70.77 to $72.39. (Reporting by Robert Gibbons)