Oil prices rebounded above $36 a barrel Friday in Asia from a sharp fall the previous trading day as investors braced for more signs that a global economic slowdown deepened in the fourth quarter, Associated Press reported. Light, sweet crude for February delivery rose $1.22 to $36.57 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midafternoon in Singapore. The contract on Wednesday fell $3.63 to settle at $35.35. Trading was closed Thursday for Christmas. In other Nymex trading, gasoline futures were steady at 79 cents a gallon. Heating oil gained 3.87 cents to $1.24 a gallon while natural gas for January delivery fell 3.1 cents to $5.88 per 1,000 cubic feet. In London, February Brent crude rose 94 cents to $37.55 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
