Is oil on the rise?
"Crude Oil Rises, Set for Biggest Monthly Increase Since May
Crude Oil rose, heading for its biggest monthly gain in almost a year, as equities increased and a weaker dollar enhanced the appeal of commodities.
Oil climbed as much as 3.2 percent after European stocks rebounded from the largest drop in four weeks and U.S. futures advanced. Energy, metal and grain prices gained today as the U.S. currency’s drop made dollar-denominated goods more attractive to buyers.
'The fundamentals of the oil market have been shoved to the background as we focus on the stock and currency markets,' said Jim Ritterbusch, president of Ritterbusch & Associates, a Galena, Illinois, energy consultant. 'Oil is trailing the equity market and has been moving in the opposite direction of the dollar.'
Crude oil for May delivery rose $1.26, or 2.6 percent, to $49.67 a barrel at 9:04 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil has gained 11 percent this quarter after tumbling 56 percent in the previous three months."