Crude oil, which has risen 80 percent this year, is causing the U.S. dollar to weaken, driving metals and other commodities higher, according to Jeffrey Currie, head of commodity research at Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

While oil has risen, the U.S. currency has weakened, leading to speculation that the dollar’s depreciation is driving investors to buy oil as an inflation hedge, thereby pushing up the price of crude.

“I would argue the other way,” Currie said in an interview yesterday in London. “I would argue that higher oil prices drive the dollar down and then the weaker dollar drives the metals and soft commodities up.”

The U.S. currency dropped to the lowest in more than a year against the euro on Oct. 26, while the dollar index, an indication of the international value of the currency, has lost 6.4 percent this year. Gold for immediate delivery has climbed 24 percent to a record this year while sugar is up 70 percent.

“Oil represents 40 to 50 percent of the U.S. current account deficit, so a higher oil price represents an outflow of dollars that pushes the currency lower,” Currie said in the interview, after attending a Chatham House conference on food security.

Goldman Sachs estimates that oil will reach $85 a barrel by the end of the year on Chinese demand for diesel, and $95 within 12 months time. Crude oil for December delivery traded at $80.35 a barrel, up 0.9 percent, on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 10:48 a.m. London time.