Markets latch on to 10% bounce in oil prices

Singapore

OIL prices rebounded with such a vengeance on Friday that analysts suggest the panic engulfing global financial markets might be at a temporary end.

The trigger was apparently European Central Bank (ECB) president Mario Draghi saying after a scheduled ECB meeting that he would "review and possibly reconsider" its policy stance at the next March meeting. Markets took him to mean that more easing was coming.

Asian markets rallied, led by a 5-6 per cent surge in Japanese stocks. Traders speculated that Japan's central bank might ease more when it meets at the end …