SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Crude-oil futures hit a 12-week high Tuesday, as the dollar remained weaker and traders awaited the first batch of inventories data. TODAY'S TOP MARKET STORIES S&P 500 (1 YEAR) 1,3001,2001,1001,000900 10SNFAJ • Market Snapshot: U.S. stocks in focus • Today's biggest advancing, declining stocks • Sign up for free, breaking-news email alerts EARNINGS WATCH | Earnings, updates, warnings THE MARKET BY SECTOR | Industries • Tech Stocks | Energy Stocks | Retail Stocks • Financials | Airline Stocks | Pharma and Biotech EXPANDED MARKETS NEWS • Bonds | Oil news | Gold news • Currencies | Market Data | Economic Calendar • See all the latest markets video Crude oil for September delivery rose $1.21, or 1.5%, to $82.55 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That's oil's highest settlement since May 4, when oil closed at $82.74 a barrel. Prices lost a bit of steam as equities opened lower on Wall Street and as the day's macroeconomic reports weren't favorable. But they recovered their strength as the dollar stayed under pressure. Positive momentum also worked in oil's favor, as the commodity has closed higher for four straight sessions. "It's a tug of war between lower equities restricting gains and the weakness in the dollar pushing prices higher," said Jim Ritterbusch, a trader and oil analyst at Ritterbusch and Associates in Galena, Ill. Further helping oil, investment flow has picked up after oil first made new highs on Monday, Ritterbusch added. The long wait to settle at $80 a barrel finally ended on Monday, when oil rallied 3% to finish at $81.34 a barrel. Oil futures had been stuck between $70 and just below $80 for the better part of two months. Strong rally fizzles The stock market's very strong start to August appears to have little follow through, as economic data showing flat consumer spending and incomes and declining pending home sales and factory orders paint a picture of an economy that is still struggling. The dollar index (DXY 80.72, +0.12, +0.15%) , which compares the U.S. unit to a basket of six other currencies, fell 0.4% to 80.63, earlier trading at its lowest since April. A weaker dollar is generally supportive of commodities prices, as it makes them cheaper for holders of other currencies and broadens their investment appeal. Traders were awaiting the first round of inventories news as the American Petroleum Institute trade group reports its numbers at 4:30 p.m. Eastern. That comes ahead of the more closely watched government data Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. Eastern Analysts polled by Platts expect a decline of 1.2 million barrels for the week ended July 30. The analysts also forecast a decrease of 870,000 barrels in gasoline stockpiles and an increase of 1.2 million in the stockpiles of distillates, which include diesel and heating oil. Refineries were expected to be running at 90% of their capacity, down 0.6%. U.S. consumer spending remained flat in June, the Commerce Department said. Pending sales of U.S. homes fell in June, its second decline after a tax subsidy expired, a real estate trade group said. June factory orders dropped by 1.2%, led by declines in construction machinery. Meanwhile, natural gas reversed direction to close lower, with the September contract declining 6 cents, or 1.3%, to $4.64 per million British thermal units. Reformulated gasoline for September delivery rose 3 cents, or 1.2%, to settle at $2.19 a gallon. Claudia Assis is a San Francisco-based reporter for MarketWatch.

Source