Oil rose for a fourth day, the longest run of gains since August, amid speculation reduced investment will curb production.

BP Plc said today it will cut spending by 13 percent after oil slumped. U.S. drillers idled 94 rigs last week, the most in data starting in 1987, according to Baker Hughes Inc. Hedge funds and other speculators held the largest number of short contracts in WTI in four years last week. A U.S. refinery strike, which started Feb. 1, has halted one plant while management has taken control of operations at six others.

Brent crude is poised to enter a bull market after rebounding from a collapse. Prices are down 52 percent since June. Chevron Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell Plc lowered their spending targets for this year as the industry cut more than $40 billion from budgets since Nov. 1. Futures rose as much as 4 percent in New York, extending a 2.8 percent gain yesterday.

"We're rising for a fourth consecutive day as the market corrects after its huge decline," Gene McGillian, a senior analyst at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut, said by phone. "The BP spending plans are probably putting the focus on the rig count and what that'll mean for future output."

West Texas Intermediate for March delivery rose $1.59, or 3.2 percent, to $51.16 a barrel at 10:29 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures touched $51.55, the highest level since Jan. 5. WTI closed at $44.45 on Jan. 28, the lowest since March 2009. The volume of all futures traded was 59 percent above the 100-day average for the time of day.

Brent for March settlement climbed $1.35, or 2.5 percent, to $56.10 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. That's 20 percent higher than its Jan. 13 close of $46.59, the lowest in almost six years. A gain of 20 percent in closing prices is commonly referred to as a bull market. Volume was about twice the 100-day average. The North Sea crude is heading for the longest stretch of gains since May.

The European benchmark oil grade traded at a $4.94 premium to WTI.

BP expects to cut spending to $20 billion this year, compared with previous guidance of $24 billion to $26 billion. It spent about $23 billion in 2014.

Oil will probably trade from $40 to $60 a barrel for the next three years, BP Plc Chief Executive Officer Bob Dudley said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Tuesday.

Gold declined markedly amid hopes of avoiding conflict between the new government of Greece and its international lenders.

Appetite for safe assets weakened after the Greek government signaled plans to revise the terms of the debt with its creditors, departing from the requirements to take them off.

Greek Finance Minister Janis Varufakis suggested "list of debt swaps" to ease the debt burden of the country, according to which creditors are invited to exchange debt for new bonds tied to economic growth.

This offer is easing concerns over a conflict that could lead to a Greek exit from the euro zone.

On Tuesday, the main stock index in Athens jumped more than 8%, providing significant support to the growth of European equities. Yields on 10-year Greek government bonds also fell sharply.

Gold rose early in the session, as optimism about the US economy weakened when data released on Monday showed that consumer spending in the country fell in December at the fastest pace since September 2009, undermining optimism about the health of the US economy.

A separate report showed that construction spending in the US rose in December, less than expected, while industrial production growth slowed.

Last week, another report showed that in the fourth quarter, the US economy grew less than expected by 2.6% after 5.0% in the previous quarter.

Today in the US were published data on factory orders. The number of production orders declined significantly at the end of December, registering with the fifth consecutive monthly fall. At the same time the cost of business drop was less than previously estimated, and it should support the sector in the coming months.

Ministry of Commerce announced new orders for manufactured goods fell by 3.4 percent due to a drop in demand in the industrial sector.

Market participants are also preparing for Friday's report on employment in the US non-farm payrolls to obtain additional information regarding the strength of the recovery in the labor market.

Analysts predict that in January, the US economy added 231,000 jobs in December after 252,000, while the unemployment rate is projected to remain unchanged at 5.6%.

Strong employment rates in the non-agricultural sector, are likely to increase speculation about the timing recovery rates by the Federal Reserve System, while the weak values can contribute to the growth of gold, weakening incentives for early recovery rates.

April futures price of gold on the COMEX today fell to 1256.50 dollars per ounce.

Oil has continued to rally adding to gains of over 10% in the last two days after a 7th consecutive month of falling prices. Today Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate are further extending gains. Brent Crude added +3.32%, currently trading at USD56.57 a barrel, back far above the important USD50 level. On January 13th Crude hit a low at USD45.19. West Texas Intermediate added +2.95% currently quoted at USD51.03. Disappointing data from China and the U.S. weigh recently on prices. China and the U.S. are the world's largest consumers of oil. Concerns over future output from U.S. shale drillers drives prices up. The number of U.S. oil drilling rigs has declined the most in a week in 30 years. Morgan Stanley warns about over interpreting the significance of the number of rigs active as they don't give an exact indication on overall output. Ongoing strikes on U.S. plants give a further boost to prices.

Worldwide supply still exceeds demand in a period of low global economic growth and the OPEC refusing to cut output rates to stabilize prices. Smaller OPEC members want to cut production but the organisation, responsible for 40% of worldwide production focuses on its fight for market share.

Gold is trading higher today on Tuesday as investors look ahead to important data on the U.S. economy later in the week. On Monday optimism weakened as data showed U.S. consumer spending fall at the fastest pace since 2009 and data last week that showed the U.S. economy grew by a weaker-than-expected 2.6%. Today market participants await data on U.S. Factory Orders.

The new Greek government retreated from a plan for a write-off of its debt and proposed a new debt arrangement to reach a compromise with its international creditors on the terms of its bailout. Finance Minister Varoufakis reassured in London that Greece is not seeking a standoff with the European Union.

In January gold prices increased by almost 8% as the precious metal was sought after as safe-haven asset. Expectations that the FED is going to hike interest rates in mid-2015 as the U.S. economy is growing and the labour market is improving might decrease if the upcoming data fails to show that the economy is on track. A future interest rate hike puts pressure on gold. Higher interest rates make gold less attractive as the metal is not yield-bearing. A stronger greenback recently also weighed on the dollar-denominated precious metal as it makes it more expensive for holders of other currencies.

The precious metal is currently quoted at USD1,281.60, +0,52% a troy ounce. On Thursday the 22^nd of January gold reached a five-month high at USD1,307.40.

(raw materials / closing price /% change)

Light Crude 49.57 +2.76%

Gold 1,276.90 -0.18%