Oil Follows Equities Into the Green

Oil edged up on Monday in thin and choppy trade, receiving support from equities' higher open on Wall Street and a weaker dollar, along with the ongoing turmoil in the Middle East.     Brent and U.S. crude futures recovered from losses attributed to profit taking after Friday's rally on supportive U.S. jobs additions and hopes that Europe can address its debt crisis.     "Equities moved higher and the dollar is a little lower and that may have been enough to stop the early profit taking after Friday's big jump," said Gene McGillian, analyst at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut.     Expectations for more stimulus measures to support the debt-laden euro zone and the latest pledge by China, the world's top energy consumer, to intensify its fine-tuning of monetary policy to support economic development also helped keep a floor under oil prices.       U.S. stocks hit a three-month high as traders bet that European Central Bank (ECB) plans to lower borrowing costs for Spain and Italy would work, adding to the bullish sentiment after Friday's strong U.S. July jobs additions.     Brent September crude rose 10 cents to $109.04 a barrel by 11:32 a.m. EDT (1532 GMT), having swung from $107.90 to $109.20.     U.S. September crude was up 33 cents at $91.73 a barrel, having traded from $90.63 to $91.99.     Total crude trading volume was thin, with Brent dealings 55 percent under its 30-day moving average and U.S. crude turnover 59 percent under its 30-day average.