By Claudia Assis and Deborah Levine, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) - Crude-oil futures on Tuesday rose for the first time in six days, as the weakening U.S. dollar and rising global equities boosted sentiment in the energy markets.
Crude oil for August delivery added $1.24, or 1.7%, to $73.30 a barrel, recapturing the $73 level after two days trading below it.
"We're seeing a little bit of a relief rally" after the recent losses, said Matt Smith, an analyst at Summit Energy in Louisville, Ky.
Oil was tracking stocks as traders ignored a weak read on the U.S.'s non-manufacturing sector. The "risk trade is back on the table," he added.
U.S. stocks opened higher Tuesday, rebounding from their beating last week. Read more about stocks.
Oil prices held on to gains despite the decline in the Institute for Supply Management's U.S. non-manufacturing index to 53.8 in June, from 55.4 in May.
Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected a read around 54.5. Readings above 50 signal growth.
Despite Tuesday's gains, oil is likely to trade sideways or slightly lower during the shortened holiday week, Smith said.
Gains in the oil markets look weak compared with the rebound for stocks, said Tim Evans, an analyst with Citi Futures Perspective in New York, in a research note. "This suggests traders have become more concerned about surplus inventories and weak consumer-demand prospects," he said.
The shortened holiday week brings the Department of Energy's monthly short-term energy outlook report on Wednesday.
Because of the Monday holiday, reports on natural-gas storage and oil inventories are due Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. Eastern, respectively.
Meanwhile, other energy products rose on Monday, with natural-gas futures leading. Natural gas for September delivery, the most active contract, added 14 cents, or 3%, to $4.86 per million British thermal units.
Reformulated gasoline for August delivery added 4 cents, or 2.1%, to $2.01 a gallon.
After subdued trading on Monday, the dollar index (DXY 83.88, -0.73, -0.86%) , a measure of the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, fell to 83.94 from 84.41 in late North American trading on Friday. Read about dollar, euro.
U.S. stocks opened higher and held on to gains after the ISM report.
Crude-oil futures on Friday fell to their lowest level in nearly a month, a lackluster end to a week that brought oil down 8.5%. It was the biggest drop in eight weeks. Read about Friday's oil trading.
