NEW YORK: Oil rose over 2 percent on Tuesday as reports of a possible aid package for the troubled Greek economy sent Wall Street higher, weakened the US dollar and supported oil prices.
US crude prices for March delivery rose $1.76 to $73.65 a barrel by 1:32 p.m. EST (1832 GMT) after hitting a high of $74.15. At the end of last week, prices briefly dipped below $70 a barrel to the lowest level since mid-December. ICE Brent crude rose $1.86 to $71.97. By midday Tuesday, the US dollar was off a recent 8-1/2 month high against the euro.
Spot gold hit a session high of $1,083.05 an ounce and was bid at $1,077.25, up 1.27 percent.
In midday US stock market trade, the Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index was up 1.41 percent at 1,071.68 while the Dow Jones industrial average was up 1.71 percent at 10,078.21.