Crude Hits High, Hovers Near $75: Oil Alert

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Oil futures cruised past the seemingly mythical $75 barrier and reached a new high for the year earlier this morning, as economic optimism and a corresponding slump in the Dollar index helped push up the black stuff.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange on Wednesday morning, the front-month contract for benchmark crude was trading higher by 73 cents at $74.88 per barrel. But earlier in the session, crude went as high as $75.17, or up $1.02, which marks a new high for 2009 after hitting $75 even in August.

And with equities rising higher in the morning, the U.S. Dollar Index fell earlier to its lowest level of the year.

A series of good earnings showings has investors feeling more buoyant in the early going on Wednesday, with better-than-expected showings from JPMorgan Chase(JPM) and Intel(INTC) fueling the sentiments.

The rally in stocks included the energy sector too, as shares of Exxon Mobil(XOM), Chevron(CVX) and Hess(HES) were changing hands up 1%, 1.1% and 0.6%, respectively.

Marathon Oil(MRO) and Murphy Oil(MUR) were also ticking higher in the morning, gaining 2.2% and 1.3%, each.

ConocoPhillips(COP) shares were flat at $50.97 after the opening bell.

On Thursday, oil demand figures will again come into view, as the Energy Department is set to release its weekly inventory statistics at 11 a.m.

-- Written by Sung Moss in New York

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