SIOUX FALLS, S.D. --- Light, sweet crude for January delivery climbed on Monday nearly 6 percent, or $2.94, to $52.87 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the Associated Press reported.

Phil Flynn, an analyst at Alaron Trading Corp., told AP that oil initially seemed like it was heading downward, dropping to $48 overnight despite rumors about possible OPEC production cuts. But news that the U.S. government will take a $20 billion stake in Citigroup and guarantee hundreds of billions of dollars in risky assets delivered a boost for both the stock market and oil market. Nonetheless, Flynn said it's likely just a short-term bump; he doesn't think investors are betting that the market has hit bottom.

"What we've seen in the past on these bailouts is it does give oil a boost for a while and energy a boost for a while," he said. "But as time goes on, that stimulus sort of wears off and then we go back to focusing on supply and demand."

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 300 points Monday morning.

 

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