Oil rebounds after last week’s huge losses

Barrel of crude pushes above $81 mark after dollar weakens NEW YORK - Oil prices rebounded from a 13-month low Monday, pushing above $81 a barrel after the dollar weakened and investors trickled back into financial markets on hopes that a globally coordinated rescue plan will stave off an economic meltdown. Prices were also supported by expectations that OPEC countries may tighten production in a bid to slow crude’s precipitous decline; prices have fallen about 45 percent since shooting to a record $147.27 on July 11. Last week, crude tumbled more than $16 to levels not seen since September 2007, with over half the losses coming on Friday alone. Investors appeared calmer Monday after European leaders agreed overnight to a raft of new measures aimed at strengthening the battered financial sector, including debt guarantees,... [read full story]