money hedge funds have seen oil's recent move below $50 as a buying opportunity, betting that higher demand later in the year will strain world supplies. The cartel will meet on June 15 to set its output plans for the second half this year. Oil prices are also under pressure from resilience in the dollar, which is holding near a seven-month high against the euro. Those gains make dollar-denominated oil more expensive for non-dollar economies and encourage speculators to switch funds out of energy markets into treasuries, analysts say.
