Oil

Marathon Oil Corp. will sell its Wyoming upstream and midstream assets for $870 million, as big energy producers continue to reshape their portfolios during a severe and extended pricing downturn.

Brent crude prices touched a four-month high on Monday as a rally in wider commodities markets encouraged buying ahead of a meeting of oil producers in Doha next Sunday, aimed at freezing current output levels.

Wall Street gains were driven by materials stocks on Monday as a weaker dollar boosted commodities, and investors turned their focus to the earnings season.

National Oilwell Varco said on Monday it would cut its quarterly dividend by 89 percent as the company struggles to cope with a prolonged slump in oil prices.

The average price of a gallon of gasoline in the United States gained 8 cents in the past three weeks, according to a survey released on Sunday.

Wall Street was lower on Thursday as oil prices slid and investors worried that measures taken by central banks may not be enough to put the global economy back on track.

Oil steadied at around $40 per barrel on Thursday as a surprise fall in U.S. inventories the previous day was offset by an increase in exports from Iraq, underlining global oversupply.

Terry Duffy, CME Group executive chairman and president said the future for oil isn’t necessarily bleak, and if prices rally, producers could come back into the market.

Oil prices surged more than 5 percent on Wednesday, heading for their largest gain in three weeks, after the U.S. government reported a surprise draw in domestic crude stockpiles versus market expectations for a new record high.

John Hofmeister said the global glut of crude oil supplies, though putting downward pressure on prices and hurting producers, is actually comforting in one way.

Oil slipped to a one-month low on Tuesday after a surprise fall in gasoline demand in the United States, the world's largest oil consumer, and on doubts whether oil producers can agree an output freeze to dampen a global supply glut.

Oil held around its lowest in a month on Monday as investors ditched some of their bullish bets on another price rise and the chances that top exporters will agree to rein in overproduction appeared to fade.

U.S. stocks opened lower on Friday after data showed employers added more jobs than expected in March, a sign of economic resilience that could encourage the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates this year.

U.S. crude moved lower by more than 1%, with the market growing increasingly skeptical that a looming deal to freeze crude production can help clear a global glut.

U.S. stocks were little changed at the open on Thursday, the last day of a turbulent quarter for financial markets.

U.S. crude rebounded from early losses on Thursday but the recovery was muted as the market's focus switched back to signs of growing oil stocks.

U.S. crude fell 2%, reflecting growing concerns that a two-month rally may be in danger of fizzling, while analysts forecast another rise to record levels for U.S. crude stockpiles.