•Global crude futures on Tuesday were holding on to strong gains seen in late-Monday trading, which was fueled by the US automobile bailout news and rallying equity markets. Losses in the US dollar also underpinned the $2/barrel-plus settle for both ICE Brent and NYMEX crude futures contracts.

•Crude futures rebounded Monday after falling to four-year-lows at the end of last week, boosted by strong gains in the Dow Jones and a sharp drop in the dollar. Global stock markets soared after US President-elect Barack Obama promised the biggest infrastructure investment plan in half a century over the weekend and the US Congress signaled a rescue of the Big Three US automakers, AFP reported.

•"Oil prices registered a solid, short covering bounce yesterday," energy analyst Ed Meir said in a report for MF Global on Tuesday. "However, it remains to be seen whether Monday's rally in crude has any legs to it... in Asian trading we were up by only 20 cents/b...This is not exactly a reassuring sign that Monday's rally will necessarily spill over into Tuesday's session. We would therefore be inclined to start looking for entry levels on the short side, but only after the current run has had enough time to prove itself over the next day or two."

Updated: December 9, 2008