Crude takes its cue from stocks and heads higher, as gas pump prices fall

Oil breaks losing streak, prices climb

NEW YORK — Oil rose for the first time in five trading sessions on Tuesday as stock prices climbed with better economic news, and worries about the economic recovery eased.

Benchmark crude rose 53 cents to settle at $75.77 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Drivers shelled out less at the pump as gas prices fell again, down almost a penny from Monday to a national average of about $2.74 a gallon for unleaded regular. That’s almost 4 cents below a week ago and 10 cents higher than a year ago.

Lower crude oil prices and soft demand are keeping gas prices in check. “Early August is supposed to be a period of heavy gasoline demand, but the nation’s youngest drivers have fewer part-time jobs than has been the case in a number of years,” U.S. energy consultants Cameron Hanover said. “The large number of would-be workers without jobs means that fewer people are driving to work.”

Oil prices rose with stocks after the government reported that wholesale prices increased last month for the first time since March, and industrial production in July rose more than economists expected. Oil and stock prices have moved nearly in tandem in recent weeks as commodities investors look to the stock market for signs of where the economy is headed.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up almost 104 points. The NASDAQ and the S&P 500 were higher as well.

“Today, it seems that the market sentiment has strongly improved,” said a report from Sucden Research in London. “However, trading conditions are likely to remain quite volatile and nervous in the energy market, as uncertainty remains on the table.”

“Investors are unlikely to be jumping back into oil with both feet any time, soon,” Cameron Hanover noted. “At this stage, they seem to be holding on, waiting for someone else to bid prices higher.”

In other Nymex trading in September contracts, heating oil added 3.71 cents to settle at $2.0259 a gallon and gasoline rose 2.89 cents to settle at $1.9532 a gallon. Natural gas gained by 3.9 cents to settle at $4.267 per 1,000 cubic feet on the Nymex.

In London, Brent crude was up $1.30 to settle at $77.46 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

Associated Press writer Pablo Gorondi in Hungary contributed to this report.