Crude Oil Futures Climb in New York

Energy futures moved higher Tuesday at the New York Mercantile Exchange on the anticipation of another interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve.

The April West Texas crude contract gained $1.54 to $107.22 a barrel. Brent crude advanced $2.18 to $103.93 a barrel. Reformulated gasoline rose 7 cents to $2.58 a gallon, and heating oil edged 2 cents higher to $3.09 a gallon.

Natural gas for April delivery jumped 13 cents to $9.23 per million British thermal units.

The rebound in energy commodities comes a day after investors fled the space on worries of a global economic slowdown and decreased demand for energy. Lowering the fed funds interest rate tends to diminish the value of the U.S. dollar relative to other global currencies. Because oil is denominated in dollars, a fall in their value generally lifts the price of crude oil.

In recent months, crude oil has been caught in a currency-fueled upward vortex, nudging higher every time the dollar has fallen.

According to Edward Meir, energy analyst at MF Global, investors should not assume that the correlation between the falling dollar and high oil prices will continue. Economists are beginning to discuss the option of a currency intervention with other central banks in order "to break the weak dollar/high commodity price spiral," Meir wrote in a research note.

Last Friday, economists at Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs reportedly told their clients to be on currency "intervention watch."

Meanwhile, energy stocks were broadly higher. ConocoPhillips(COP Quote) rose 2.2% to $77.57 a share. Chevron (CVX Quote) climbed 1.8% to $85.69, and Exxon Mobil(XOM Quote) advanced 2% to $87.53.