After enduring a withering downturn, crude-oil prices flirted with a closely watched line in the sand that, if breached, could signal further gains ahead. West Texas Intermediate crude for February delivery CLG9, +4.78% was up $2.39, or 5.2%, to settle at $52.36 a barrel, putting the U.S. benchmark a few percentage points short of its 50-day moving average at $53.50, according to FactSet data and based on the most-active contract. Moving averages are often watched by analysts and traders as guides to short- and longer term trend changes. Oil notched a nearly four-year high above $76 a barrel in early October but then ... (full story)