Oil rebounds in Asia on Europe bank rescue plan

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Oil prices rebounded from a 13-month low to rise above $81 a barrel Monday in Asia on expectations that a pledge by European countries to keep banks from collapsing may stabilize a tumultuous global financial system.

Light, sweet crude for November delivery was up $3.71 to $81.41 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midday in Singapore. The contract fell Friday $8.89 to $77.70, the lowest price since Sept. 10, 2007.

"The turnaround in oil today is due primarily to the European bank rescue plan," said Victor Shum, an energy analyst at consultancy Purvin & Gertz in Singapore. "It's a shot in the arm, though it's too early to know if this will restore confidence to the credit markets."

At an emergency summit of leaders of the 15 euro-zone countries in Paris on Sunday, European governments agreed to guarantee new bank debt until the end of 2009, allowed governments to help banks by buying preferred shares, and vowed to rescue important failing banks through emergency recapitalization.

Individual governments will announce how they will implement the measures.

The plan follows Britain's $88 billion plan to partly nationalize major banks and promise to guarantee a further $438 billion of loans to shore up the banking sector.

U.S. lawmakers Sunday urged quick action by President George W. Bush on measures to make direct purchases of bank stock to help unlock lending. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has indicated the administration will use part of the recent $700 billion bailout Bush signed Oct. 3 to have the government take ownership stakes in banks.

The administration has not indicated when it would announce its next steps.

"These rescue plans will not prevent a global economic slowdown, but they may ease the pain," Shum said. "I expect further downward volatility in the oil market, though talk of $50 or $60 is extreme."

Oil prices have fallen about 45 percent since soaring to a record $147.27 on July 11.

Investors are watching for signs that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries may cut production at an extraordinary meeting in Vienna next month. Iranian Oil Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari on Saturday called for stability in the oil market, saying the biggest challenge now was a decline in oil demand because of a global economic recession.

"There won't likely be any overt cuts, but there could be an informal tweaking of production that could provide support for prices," Shum said. "It's politically unacceptable for OPEC to make cuts in the middle of a global deceleration."

In other Nymex trading, heating oil futures rose 6.30 cents to $2.27 a gallon, while gasoline prices gained 7.50 cents to US$1.88 a gallon. Natural gas for November delivery rose 8.3 cents to $6.62 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In London, November Brent crude rose $3.05 to $77.14 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

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