Crude oil rose for the first time in six days as U.S. equities, led by health companies, climbed on speculation Republicans will block an industry overhaul.
Oil rebounded after the Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained the most in two weeks. Hedge-fund managers and other large speculators increased their bets on strengthening crude oil prices to the highest level since at least 1983, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data on Jan. 15 showed.
"Crude oil is rising because the S&P is up," said Tim Evans, an energy analyst at Citigroup Global Markets Inc. in New York. "There's a good bit of cherry-picking going on here. Those who are long, which was a substantial number last week, will take any justification to send prices higher."
Crude oil for February delivery rose $1.02, or 1.3%, to settle at $79.02 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil touched $76.76, the lowest intraday price since Dec. 24. February futures expire tomorrow. The more-active March contract increased 95 cents, or 1.2%, to end the session at $79.32.
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