By Claudia Assis and Sarah Turner, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Crude-oil futures gained more than 2% Tuesday, as better-than-expected U.S. housing data revived hopes for the economy and thus demand for oil.
Crude for August delivery CL1Q +2.12% rose $2.32, or 2.5%, to $98.29 a barrel after inching higher in earlier trade.
The contract fell $1.31, or 1.4%, the previous session as a rising dollar and concerns about Europe’s sovereign-debt woes tinted trading. Read more on Monday's oil move.
The dollar lost steam on Tuesday, taking some of the pressure off oil and other commodities.
The index DXY -0.63% , which measures the greenback against a basket of six other currencies, traded at 75.041, down from 75.343 in late North American trading on Monday.
Commodities priced in dollars generally move inversely to the greenback.
Until there is more clarity over whether private owners of Greek government bonds can contribute to the country’s bailout without triggering a default, “we suspect the tone in most commodity markets, including energy, will remain relatively jittery,” Energy analysts at MF Global said in a note to clients.
“If the outlines of a resolution start to take definitive shape, an upside bounce in the equity and debt markets could pull commodity markets higher,” they added.
U.S. homebuilders revved up home construction in June. Housing starts rose 14.6% to a five-month high in June, the Commerce Department said. Read more about housing starts.
