Oil rose in New York after falling for a fifth time in six days on speculation that the drop was exaggerated and before reports that will probably show U.S. consumer confidence and the housing market improved. Futures advanced as much as 0.9 percent after prices slid 6.2 percent last week. Hedge funds increased bullish oil bets last week on expectations that the Federal Reserve’s latest round of economic stimulus will boost hiring and bolster demand. Confidence among American consumers probably rebounded this month and a gauge of home prices rose the most in almost two years in July, economists said before reports today. “Crude most likely overshot on the down side last week,� said Filip Petersson, an analyst at SEB AB in Stockholm. “We would most likely have seen lower prices now if it had not been for talk of quantitative easing. There are potential bearish influences out there, coming in the short term from Europe and current discussions with Greece and Spain. Oil markets have also still not fully understood the impact of the Chinese slowdown.� Oil for November delivery increased 49 cents to $92.42 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange as of 10:02 a.m. London time. It earlier gained as much as 84 cents to $92.77. The contract fell to $91.93 a barrel yesterday, the lowest close since Sept. 20. Prices are down 6.2 percent this year. Brent for November settlement gained 54 cents to $110.35 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The European benchmark grade’s premium to West Texas Intermediate was at $17.93, from $17.88 yesterday. Consumer Confidence The Conference Board’s index of U.S. consumer confidence rose to 63.2 in September from 60.6 in August, based on a Bloomberg News survey of economists before the report at 10 a.m. New York time. An index from S&P/Case-Shiller at 9 a.m. in New York will show home prices in 20 U.S. cities rose 1.1 percent in July from a year earlier, the most since August 2010, a separate survey showed. The U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency may say that home prices rose 0.6 percent in July, the sixth consecutive monthly increase. Stuart Miller, chief executive officer of homebuilder Lennar Corp., said yesterday that housing is “beginning to revert to normal.� Oil rose 1.3 percent on Sept. 13 after Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said that the central bank will buy as much as $40 billion in mortgage-backed securities a month in an effort to bolster the economy and reduce unemployment, which has remained above 8 percent for 43 months. Higher Prices “In the medium to long term, the monetary policy measures announced by the central banks are likely to bring about higher prices,� Carsten Fritsch, a Commerzbank AG analyst based in Frankfurt, said today in a report. Money managers added to net-long positions, or wagers on rising prices, by 5.6 percent in the seven days ended Sept. 18, according to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Commitments of Traders report on Sept. 21. It was the highest level since May 1. U.S. crude supplies probably rose last week for the longest run of increases since May, according to a Bloomberg survey before an Energy Department report tomorrow. The American Petroleum Institute will release separate inventory data today. Inventories advanced for a third week in the seven days ended Sept. 21 as output rebounded after Hurricane Isaac, according to the median estimate of nine analysts in the Bloomberg survey. Stockpiles climbed to 369.6 million barrels, which would leave them at the highest level since the week ended Aug. 3. Seven of the respondents forecast a gain and two projected a decline. To contact the reporters on this story: Ayesha Daya in Dubai at adaya1@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Stephen Voss at sev@bloomberg.net

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