June 23 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose for the first time in three days as U.S. equity futures gained and a weaker dollar increased the appeal of commodities as a hedge. Oil gained, after earlier falling below $67 a barrel, as U.S. stock futures climbed, indicating the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index may rebound from the steepest drop in two months. Crude also gained as the U.S. dollar declined against the euro on speculation that the Federal Reserve will temper expectations for an interest-rate increase. “Firmer equities and a pullback in the U.S. dollar has pushed oil back up,” said Andrey Kryuchenkov, a VTB Capital commodity analyst in London. “At the moment, the correlation with the dollar is still there, since nothing has changed fundamentally in the oil market.” Crude oil for August delivery climbed as much as 90 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $68.40 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It traded at $68.11 a barrel at 1:30 p.m. in London. The contract earlier fell as much as $1.13 to $66.37 a barrel. The July contract expired yesterday at $66.93. Brent crude for August settlement rose as much as 96 cents, or 1.4 percent, to $67.94 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures Europe exchange. It traded at $67.63 at 1:30 p.m. London time.

Source