By Barbara Powell May 10 (Bloomberg) -- Gasoline rallied as the dollar slid and stocks gained after European policy makers unveiled a loan package to contain a sovereign debt crisis and safeguard economic recovery. Gasoline surged as the dollar sank 1.5 percent against the euro at 9:20 a.m. in New York, boosting the investment appeal of commodities. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 3.1 percent at 9:32 a.m. in New York. Gasoline lost 11 percent last week as the dollar advanced and stocks fell on concern a debt crisis in Greece would spread to other countries. “This is just demonstrating our attachment to the broader financial markets,” said Gene McGillian, an analyst and broker at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut. “Until either the market decides the European crisis has let up or come back to the front again, the market will be very, very volatile.” Gasoline for June delivery gained 4.69 cents, or 2.2 percent, to $2.172 a gallon at 9:24 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Governments of the 16 euro nations agreed today to lend as much as 750 billion euros ($962 billion) to countries under attack from speculators. The European Central Bank said it will counter “severe tensions” in “certain” markets by purchasing government and private debt. The premium of gasoline over heating oil was 3.46 cents, down from 10.78 cents on April 30 and 18.37 cents on March 8. The gasoline crack spread, or the premium of the motor fuel over crude, based on June contracts, lost about 5 cents to $14.09 a barrel. Heating oil for June delivery added 5.79 cents, or 2.8 percent, to $2.1374 a gallon on the exchange. Prices fell 9.1 percent last week, the biggest weekly loss since July. The crack spread, based on June contracts, widened about 39 cents to $12.62 a barrel. Regular gasoline at the pump, averaged nationwide, fell 0.6 cent to $2.908 a gallon, AAA, the nation’s biggest motoring organization, said today on its website. --With assistance from Gavin Serkin in London. Editors: David Marino, Richard Stubbe To contact the reporter on this story: Barbara Powell in Dallas at bpowell4@bloomberg.net. To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dan Stets at dstets@bloomberg.net

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