By Laura Mandaro, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Oil futures recovered a bit Monday after the prior session’s sharp selloff, finding some support from a slate of mergers that also lifted U.S. equities.
Oil for December delivery (CLZ10 85.50, +0.62, +0.73%) traded up 34 cents, or 0.4%, to $85.22 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The contract held on to gains after U.S. economic reports showed a rise in retail sales, buoyed by demand for new vehicles, but a sharp drop in business conditions in the New York region. Read more on retail sales.
The energy market saw a rout Friday, when fears about China’s efforts to cool inflation sent the most-active oil contract down 3.3% to $84.88 a barrel, its lowest close in a little more than a week.
Limiting gains, the dollar rose against the euro as speculation increased that Ireland would soon seek a bailout. Read more on dollar, euro in Currencies column.
Analysts noted that oil was probably getting some help from investors who are taking advantage of its recent drop, though MF Global’s Edward Meir said, “All these recent developments are not exactly a conducive backdrop for commodities to flourish in, and so would be cautious about ‘buying the dips.’”
Stock futures pointed to a higher opening, supported by some recent deals. Caterpillar Inc. (CAT 80.00, -1.04, -1.28%) said it would pay $7.6 billion in cash for mining-equipment maker Bucyrus International (BUCY 90.00, +20.38, +29.27%) , while EMC Corp. (EMC 21.65, -0.08, -0.35%) said it was buying Isilon Systems (ISLN 33.82, +7.53, +28.66%) . Read more on Caterpillar and Bucyrus.
