MW: Crude rallies above $80 a barrel as U.S. stocks surge
Traders await U.S. manufacturing data, comments from Fed Chairman Bernanke
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Crude-oil futures rose more than 2% Monday to trade above $80 a barrel, as rallying global equity markets boosted sentiment and prompted traders to buy crude.
Crude oil for September delivery rose $1.90, or 2.4%, to $80.83 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. A close around these levels would be oil's highest since early May.
U.S. stock futures opened sharply higher as Asian and European stock markets posted solid gains after strong earnings reports from banking giants HSBC Holdings PLC (HBC 53.83, +2.75, +5.38%) and BNP Paribas (FR:BNP 55.34, +2.61, +4.95%) .
"Never before have oil prices correlated with U.S. stock markets as strongly as in the recent past," said analysts at Commerzbank AG in a note to clients.
Traders are awaiting the ISM manufacturing gauge for July, which will be released at 10 a.m. Eastern time.
Also this morning, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will speak about the state of the American economy.
Crude futures ended higher Friday and gained 4.4% in July, their best month since March and their second consecutive monthly gain.
