Oil futures poised for biggest one-day gain in nearly three weeks NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Crude-oil futures surged more than 7% Monday, reclaiming the $50-a-barrel mark and heading for their biggest one-day gain in nearly three weeks, as a weak dollar and stronger stocks pushed commodities broadly higher. The U.S. government agreed to rescue Citigroup, once the nation's largest bank, in a $326 billion plan to avoid financial collapse. Stocks rallied after the news, but the dollar fell sharply against its major rivals. Crude for January delivery surged $3.57, or 7.2%, to $53.50 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract leaped 8.1% earlier to an intraday high of $53.98. Crude hasn't seen such a big rally since it closed up 10% on Nov. 4. "Surging stock markets following the rescue plan for troubled Citigroup have lifted sentiment and in the process lifted crude prices," said Nimit Khamar, analyst at Sucden Research, in a note. The depreciating dollar and potential production cuts by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries also played a role in oil prices, he said. In currencies trading, the dollar index , which tracks the value of the greenback against other major currencies, lost 1.2%. Dollar weakness typically spells gains in prices of dollar-denominated commodities such as gold and oil, because they're cheaper for holders of other currencies. The greenback was overshadowed by heightened worries over the financial sector following the government's rescue of Citigroup, analysts said. See Currencies. The government plan, however, helped boost U.S. equity markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged more than 300. Meanwhile, shares of Citigroup jumped more than 60%. See Market Snapshot. Rising stocks were raising investors' sentiment in commodities trading, analysts said. "The correlation play continues," said Zachary Oxman, a senior trader at Wisdom Financial. "The market is rallying, as is crude." Oxman also pointed out that the rallies could be short-lived. "I don't see either rally holding today, and one thing I'm certain of is that this will be a very thin and very volatile week," he said. In other commodities, gold futures rose more than 4% to the highest in more than five weeks. See Metals Stocks. The Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index , a benchmark gauging the prices of major commodities, advanced 3.6% to 239.79 points. Also on Nymex trading, January reformulated gasoline rose 6.5% to $1.1335 a gallon and January heating oil gained 4.7% to $1.7768 a gallon. Natural gas for December delivery added 3.3% to $6.693 per million British thermal units. OPEC meeting Traders are also awaiting the upcoming meetings of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. The oil cartel will meet on Saturday in Egypt and again on Dec. 17 in Algeria. Venezuela's Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said Sunday the cartel should reduce production by 1 million barrels a day at its Nov. 29 meeting, adding that the cuts should take effect before the end of the year, according to media reports. Separately, Reuters reported that Iran's OPEC Gov. Mohammad Ali Khatibi said Monday that the cartel should cut output further since previous supply cuts have not been successful in halting the big slide in prices. "Gains have been limited as many market participants fear the magnitude of any OPEC cut will not be enough to counter the bearish sentiment and the fall in demand, which is continuing to deteriorate," Khamar said. The cartel needs to show its willingness to continue cutting output in line with falling demand if it wants to stabilize prices, he said.

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