Crude Oil Rises for First Time in Two Days as U.S. Stocks Rally

July 14 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose for the first time in two days as U.S. stocks rallied after analyst Meredith Whitney recommended buying shares of Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Oil rose from an eight-week low after Whitney gave Goldman Sachs the only “buy” rating among the eight companies she covers, and said banks may advance 15 percent. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 2.5 percent, its best advance since June 1.

“When Meredith Whitney came out with her “buy” rating on Goldman Sachs, the equities and energy markets started to trade higher and never looked back,” said Mike Sander, an investment adviser with Sander Capital in Seattle. “A 185-point rally in the Dow Jones gave support for oil to stay near $60 and stop the downtrend.”

Crude oil for August delivery gained as much as 50 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $60.19 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract was at $59.96 at 8:29 a.m. Sydney time. Yesterday, it fell 20 cents to $59.69 a barrel, the lowest settlement since May 19.

An Energy Department report on July 15 is forecast to show that U.S. gasoline inventories increased 750,000 barrels last week, according to a Bloomberg News survey of analysts. It would be the fifth-straight gain.