Crude Oil Rises as U.S. Equity Rally Spurs Demand Expectations

(Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose for the first time in a week as equities in the U.S., the world’s biggest oil user, rallied and the Federal Reserve said some of the country’s biggest regional economies slowed the pace of their decline.

Oil gained as much as 1.2 percent after stocks climbed in the last hour of trading yesterday. Fed districts reporting a slower economic decline or signs of stabilization include San Francisco, the largest district, New York, Chicago, Kansas City and Dallas, the Fed said in its Beige Book business survey.

“The sentiment is becoming more bullish for all commodities, perhaps prematurely but that is the market,” said David Moore, a commodity strategist with Commonwealth Bank of Australia Ltd. “With the speculation that things aren’t getting as bad as they were previously, it’s providing support to commodity prices.”

Crude oil for May delivery rose as much as $1.05, or 2.1 percent, to $50.30 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was at $50.08 a barrel at 9:52 a.m. Singapore time. Prices are up 12 percent so far this year.

Yesterday, oil fell 16 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $49.25 a barrel, the lowest settlement on the Nymex since April 7, after a government report showed that U.S. stockpiles climbed to the highest level in almost 19 years as demand dropped.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 109.44 points, or 1.4 percent, to 8,029.62 yesterday.

The trend of higher equity prices continued into Asian trading. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average climbed 1 percent, to 8,832.99 as of 9:05 a.m. in Tokyo, breaking a three-day slide. The broader Topix index rose 10.13, or 1.2 percent, to 845.38.

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Goldman reports $1.8 billion profit

(Fortune) -- Goldman Sachs reported a much stronger-than-expected first-quarter profit Monday, bouncing back from its worst quarter as a public company.

Goldman (GS, Fortune 500) also set plans to raise $5 billion through a sale of stock, saying it wants to become the first big bank to repay the federal loans extended during last fall's financial sector meltdown.

In reporting its results a day earlier than expected, New York-based Goldman said it earned $1.81 billion, or $3.39 a share, for the quarter ended March 31. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial were looking for a profit of $1.64 a share.

Goldman shares, which have surged more than 70% during the past month, continued rising late Monday, gaining about 4.7% for the day. Shares were down slightly in after-hours trading.

Read more at Fortune