(RTTNews) - The price of crude oil moved up near its 6-week high amid a generally weak U.S. dollar and recovering equity markets.
Global stocks rallied overnight, and US stocks were set to kick off August on a high note after rising 7 percent in July.
Light Sweet Crude Oil (WTI) futures for September delivery were up $0.83 to $79.78 a barrel.
China's official Purchasing Managers' Index fell to a 17-month low of 51.2 in July from 52.1 in June. However, a reading above 50 indicates expansion.
The U.S. dollar continued to linger near its 3-month low versus the euro and hit a fresh 6-month low against the British pound. The buck was ticking higher versus the yen.
Traders will look to the data on construction spending and manufacturing the U.S., due out later today, to get clues on the strength in the recovery of the economy.
Economists expect that ISM's purchasing managers' index to show a reading of 54.2 for the month, down from 56.2 reported for the previous month and expect that construction spending eased 0.8% during the month, following the 0.2% decline in May.
This week, crude oil inventories data from the API and EIA will be on focus, apart from data on factory orders, auto sales, ADP employment change, weekly jobless claims, unemployment rate and consumer credit.
