SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Oil prices briefly passed $69 per barrel today in a weeklong rally that appears short on fundamentals, yet exceedingly full of momentum.

Average retail gasoline prices continued to march upward: A gallon now costs about 46 cents more than it did a month ago.

After peaking at $69.05 Tuesday afternoon, a price not seen since early November, benchmark crude for July delivery fell 3 cents to settle at $68.55 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

There have been a few indications that the economy is mending in some of the hardest hit sectors.

Pending sales of existing homes showed the biggest jump in nearly eight year, the National Association of Realtors reported Tuesday.

That report came on the heels of manufacturing data Monday that showed some improvement both here and in China, two major energy consumers.

Yet much of the momentum on Nymex appears to be fueled by the weakening dollar, which hit a new low for the year Tuesday, and an influx of money from speculators.

Investors buy commodities like oil and gold as a protection against inflation and dollar weakness.

Oil prices have risen every day since May 21 on snips of moderately good news from manufacturers, home builders and the U.S. government.