February 05, 2008	Tuesday	Muharram 26, 1429

LONDON, Feb 4: Oil rebounded sharply toward $91 a barrel on Monday as dense sea fog slowed crude imports into the Houston Ship Channel, the waterway to the busiest US petrochemical port.

The gains reversed heavy losses last week that were triggered by fresh signs of economic weakness in the US.

US crude climbed $1.70 to $90.66 a barrel by 1747 GMT, after tumbling more than three per cent on Friday. London Brent crude was up $1.49 cents at $90.93.

Fifty-nine ships were waiting on Monday morning for dense fog to clear on the Houston Ship Channel, according to the US Coast Guard.

“We held the key support above $88 and then fog closed the Houston Ship Channel,” said Phil Flynn, analyst at Alaron Trading in Chicago.

Disruptions to imports into the Houston Ship Channel can lead to sharp drawdowns in commercial crude inventory levels, and can occasionally force oil refiners to slow output.

Adding some support on Monday, the White House said it would spend some $584 million by the end of Sept to buy crude oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

Oil prices had fallen nearly $3 on Friday after a government report showed US employers cut 17,000 jobs in January, the first decline in 4-1/2 years and the latest signal all was not well in the world’s biggest economy. —Reuters