Oil Snaps 4-Day Skid

Following last week's savage beating, oil futures closed modestly higher on Monday as traders did some bargain hunting. NYMEX-traded crude for July delivery gained 75 cents to settle at $83.98 a barrel. In London, Brent crude for July delivery added 42 cent to close at $98.85 a barrel. The dollar was slightly weaker on the session as the PowerShares DB US Dollar Index Bullish (NYSE: UUP) closed lower for a second consecutive day, losing 0.4%. Crude futures were bid higher on chatter that Germany, the Euro Zone's largest economy, might step up its efforts to prevent the region's sovereign debt crisis from escalating further. Germany has long held most of the good cards when it comes to the Euro Zone, but the average German has been stridently opposed to the country's role as Euro Zone savior, hampering Germany's efforts to help the region through this critical time.

Still, Monday's bounce, if it can even be called that, was meager at best, especially when considering the fact that U.S. futures have plunged 20% since the start of May. Monday's slight gains barely put a dent in the 3.8% drop seen last Friday following the anemic May jobs report and it should be noted traders are trimming their net long exposure to crude. Net long positions on crude contracts fell to 136,584 in the week ended May 29, according to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's Commitments of Traders report, good for the lowest level since September 2010, according to Bloomberg News.

Stocks were also able to trim their Friday losses today, but only by small margins. The S&P 500 barely closed higher while the Dow Jones Industrial Average took a small loss; meaning oil stocks were basically a mixed bag. Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) fell 0.1% on above average volume while Chevron snapped its losing streak by gaining 0.2%. Both stocks still reside well below their 200-day moving averages.

Shares of BP (NYSE: BP), Europe's second-largest oil company fell half a percent. It appears the British oil giant is warming to the idea of selling its 50% stake in its Russian venture, TNK-BP, following a series of missteps in that country. The problem for BP isn't just that TNK-BP accounts for over a quarter of BP's total reserves and production, it's that getting a large transaction done in Russia often proves difficult. Some analysts say BP could command $30 billion for its TNK-BP interest, while at least one other put the figure north of $42 billion. Either way, it could be weeks if not longer, before this news has any positive impact on shares of BP.

Speaking of controversial energy names, shares of Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK), the second-largest U.S. natural gas producer, soared 6% today on volume that was better than 20% on news that Southeastern Asset Management and financier Carl Icahn will gain control of four of the company's board seats.