NEW YORK (Reuters) – Oil rose above $79 a barrel on Tuesday after five sessions of losses as gains in the U.S. stock market boosted prices, outweighing earlier pressure from mild weather and the stronger greenback.
U.S. crude settled at $79.02 a barrel, up $1.02 from Friday’s settlement. The New York Mercantile Exchange was closed on Monday for the Martin Luther King Day holiday.
Brent crude rose 53 cents to $77.63 a barrel.
“I do think the S&P 500 is the market’s excuse for price recovery. Whether that establishes that the S&P trumps the stronger dollar and the direct fundamentals remains to be seen,” said Tim Evans, energy analyst at Citi Futures Perspective in New York.
Full story: Oil rises above $79 on Wall Street gains.