Oil rebounds near $50 on stocks rally

NEW YORK. April 1. KAZINFORM Crude oil headed back toward 50 U.S. dollars a barrel on Tuesday as the stock market set on track to its best monthly performance in years.

Light, sweet crude for May delivery rose 1.25 dollars to settle at 49.66 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude futures dropped below 48 dollars a barrel in early trading as a few disappointing economic reports hit the market. The U.S. Consumer Confidence Index rose to 26.0 in March but still remains at record low level. Prices of U.S. single-family homes dropped a record 19 percent in January from a year earlier. And the Institute for Supply Management-Chicago index of business activity fell to the lowest point in nearly 30 years. But price started to pick up as the Wall Street set for a rally on the last day of this month. Financials and technology shares led the way up. The positive sentiment prompted the oil to gain and the price topped 50 dollars a barrel before settling a little lower. In London, Brent crude for May delivery rose 1.10 dollars to 49.09 dollars a barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange, Kazinform cites Xinhua.