* Oil rallies after nearly a $100 drop from July

* Oil firms to store crude on tankers as demand slumps

* FTSEurofirst 300 rises 1.8 percent

* Banks, miners gain; pharma shares fall

Currency bid prices at 0916 GMT. All data taken from Reuters with percent change calculated from the daily U.S. close at 2130 GMT.

Last US Close % Chg YTD % 2007

(Recasts, updates prices, adds quote and comment, changes byline and dateline. Previous: TOKYO)

* Citi merger talk, equity rebound prompt FX turnaround

* Oil rallies after nearly a $100 drop from July

* Oil firms to store crude on tankers as demand slumps

* MSCI world equity index up 0.8 percent at 192.00

* Hopes for interest rate cuts cushion economic gloom

* Oil nears $100 drop from July record high

* Oil firms to store crude on tankers as demand slumps

U.S. CRUDE FUTURES <CLc1> RISE MORE THAN $2/BBL, TRACKING EQUITIES

U.S. CRUDE FUTURES <CLc1> RISE MORE THAN $2/BBL, TRACKING EQUITIES

LONDON, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Spot platinum bounced 6.10 percent on Friday to a high of $809 an ounce on bargain hunting, traders said.

"It is overall pretty volatile, platinum is caught between weakness due to the economic downturn and bargain hunting on the lows," a precious metals trader said.

SPOT PLATINUM <XPT=> BOUNCES 6.10 PCT TO $809/OZ ON BARGAIN HUNTING-TRADE

* Yen slips from 3-week highs vs dollar, euro

* Asian shares rebound sharply

* Oil nears $100 drop from July record high

* Oil firms to store crude on tankers as demand slumps

* Asia stocks recover from 5-yr low, MSCI AXJ up 3 pct

* Traders cite various rumours, short-covering

* Asia stocks recover from 5-yr low, MSCI AXJ up 3 pct

* Traders cite various rumours, short-covering

SINGAPORE, Nov 21 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures turned positive on Friday, after falling as low as $48.25 a barrel on fears of a long and deep global recession.

By 0508 GMT, U.S. crude for January delivery was up 31 cents to $49.73 a barrel. (Reporting by Seng Li Peng; Editing by Ramthan Hussain)

U.S. CRUDE <CLc1> TURNS POSITIVE, ERASING EARLIER LOSSES

(Repeats to wider coding, with no changes to text)

* Risk avoided at all costs; global recession seen deep

* Risk avoided at all costs; global recession seen deep

* Uncertainty over U.S. auto bailout, Citigroup

* Nikkei falls 2.2 pct, hits 3-week low on Wall St plunge

* Activity light before 3-day weekend

* Gold steadies after 2 pct rise but dollar, stocks weigh

* Platinum hits 3-week low on demand fears

* Oil nears $100 drop from July record high

* Oil firms to store crude on tankers as demand slumps

(Repeats to wider coding, with no changes to text)

* Risk avoided at all costs; global recession seen deep

* Risk avoided at all costs; global recession seen deep

* Uncertainty over U.S. auto bailout, Citigroup fate

SINGAPORE, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Gold inched down on Friday after rising more than 2 percent in New York as the euro weakened against the dollar and equities markets extended losses on worries about a global recession.

-- Gold <XAU=> was trading at $743.35 an ounce, down $1.35 an ounce from its notional close in New York on Thursday, when it hit an intraday high of $751.60 an ounce as physical buying helped it defy selling in equities.

(Updates with opening)

TOKYO, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei slid 1.3 percent on Friday to a three-week low, as a stronger yen and an overnight plunge in U.S. stocks prompted investors to dump exporters such as Sony Corp <6758.T>.

* Energy shares fall along with oil * Financials, Citigroup slide * Democrats set Dec. 2 for automakers to offer plan * Jobless claims exacerbate economic jitters * Dow off 5.6 pct, S&P 500 off 6.7 pct, Nasdaq off 5.1 pct * For up-to-the-minute market news, please click on STXNEWS/US (Adds Dell, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac after the bell)

By Leah Schnurr

* Oil falls under $50 a barrel to three-year low

* Debt rallies after U.S. jobless data raises growth fears

* Strong physical investment and jewelry demand boost gold

* US stocks plunge 6 pct as investors seek safety in gold

(Updates to 4 p.m.)

NEW YORK, Nov 20 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks plunged yet again on Thursday, as a frantic flight from risk on investors' deepening economic fears left the benchmark Standard & Poor's 500 index at its lowest level since 1997 -- completing the erasure of more than a decade of stock market gains.

* Oil hits lowest level since May 2005

* U.S. jobless claims report weighs on global markets

* Global stocks plunge as U.S. auto rescue prospect dims

* Oil falls under $50 a barrel to a three-year low

* Oil hits lowest level since May 2005

* U.S. jobless claims report weighs on global markets (Updates prices, recasts)

* Oil hits lowest level since May 2005

* U.S. jobless claims report weighs on global markets

* FTSEurofirst ends down 3.8 percent at 781.06 points

* Oils, bank stocks lead decline

* Global stocks plunge as U.S. auto rescue prospect dims

* Oil falls under $50 a barrel to a 22-month low

(Corrects lead to show that oil hit the lowest level since May 2005, instead of dropped below $50 for the first time since May 2005; clarifies price low in paragraph 2)

* Oil drops under $50, a fresh 42-month low

* Jewellery and investment demand boost gold

* Equity investors seek safety in gold

* Investors fret about dimming prospects US auto rescue

* Worry about Citigroup's future mounts as stock sinks

* Oil drops under $50, a fresh 42-month low

* Koch, Royal Dutch Shell book supertankers for oil storage

* Jewellery and investment demand boost gold

* Equity investors seek safety in gold

* Yen rallies as stocks fall, recession worries grow

* US jobless claims spike, dollar gains vs high-yielders

* Dimming prospects of US auto rescue unnerve markets

* Citigroup reverses rise after Saudi stake boost

* Oil falls under $50 a barrel to a fresh 22-month low

* Koch, Royal Dutch Shell book supertankers for oil storage

LONDON, Nov 20 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures <CLc1> fell $3 to $50.62 a barrel on Thursday.

U.S. crude fell further to as low as $50.22, the lowest since early January 2007, and it was trading $3.12 lower at $50.50 by 1333 GMT. (Reporting by Ikuko Kao)

* Oil drops towards $50, a fresh 22-month low

* Koch, Royal Dutch Shell book supertankers for oil storage

* MSCI world equity index down 2.04 pct at 198.52

* Oil drops below $52 to 22-month low

U.S. CRUDE OIL <CLc1> FALLS $2 TO $51.62/BBL - LOWEST SINCE JANUARY 2007

* FTSE 100 down 1.6 percent

* Energy, mining stocks fall with oil, metals prices

* Oil drops below $52, a fresh 22-month low

* Koch, Royal Dutch Shell book supertankers for oil storage

* Jewellery and investment demand boost gold

* Equity investors seek safety in gold