Oil spikes above $40 due to short-covering; bearish case remains intact

Oil surged more than 7% Thursday and briefly traded above $40, after U.S. weekly oil inventories unexpectedly declined. But traders don't view it as a market reversal.

The oil bulls are certainly trying to make the case that oil has bottomed at $35. Officially, oil for March delivery closed Thursday at $39.48 per barrel up $4.86 on NYMEX.

You, too, must be an oil bull if you believe the recession is over. And if you believe layoffs will start trending lower. And if you believe household formation will increase. And if you believe business investment will increase at healthy rates. And if you believe the worst of the financial crisis that's constricted credit is behind us.