Crude futures on Tuesday bounced back from two-month lows, helped by a weaker dollar, but an oil inventory glut and a drop in bullish bets by investors weighed on prices. Brent crude was up $1.29 at $47.54 per barrel. US West Texas Intermediate crude was up $1.10 at $45.86 a barrel, Reuters reported. "Today's rally, due in large part to the equity market, isn't really supported by the fundamentals," head of commodity strategy at ING Hamza Khan said. Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said on Tuesday the oil industry needed a price above $50 per barrel to sustain investment but added that downward pressure would prevail because of an inventory glut. "We need a price higher than $50 to achieve balance in oil markets in the long term," Falih told German business daily Handelsblatt. "But there are still excess stocks on the market - hundreds of millions of barrels of surplus oil. It will take a long time to reduce this inventory overhang," he said.
