Oil rises above $50;
Oil rose 1.3 percent to above $50 a barrel on Monday, giving up early gains, as worries over the global economy returned to the fore centring on Citigroup's ability to survive, but hopes OPEC might cut output again as early as this week helped buoy prices.
Oil prices rose slightly to above $51 a barrel Wednesday as reports that Russia could join OPEC in cutting output offset more bad economic news from the US, which had sparked a sell-off of crude overnight.