Crude oil futures ended sharply higher on Monday, snapping a seven-day losing streak and posting their biggest single-session gain in percentage terms in about five months. Optimism about growth, and a weak dollar contributed to oil's sharp uptick. The move up for oil came despite Monday’s announcement by the US Energy Department that it plans to sell up to 20 million barrels of crude oil from the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Contracts will be awarded no later than September 13 with delivery to take place between October 1 and December 15.
Crude oil futures for October surged $3.50 or 5.6 percent to settle $65.64 barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. October Brent crude gained $3.57 or 5.5 percent to settle at $68.75 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.