LONDON, Jan 12 Oil bounced back from a 19-month low under $ 52 a barrel on Friday, drawin

LONDON, Jan 12 (Reuters) Oil bounced back from a 19-month low under $52 a barrel on Friday, drawing breath after a 15 percent slide so far this year on weak demand for heating oil and fund selling.

Some traders have begun to bet that OPEC, supplier of over a third of the world's oil, will act to support prices.

U.S. crude rose 78 cents at $52.66 a barrel by 1158 GMT, recovering some ground after a 4 percent slide on Thursday that saw it close at $51.88, the lowest settlement for a front-month contract since May 2005.

London Brent crude climbed $1.04 at $52.74.

''The decline in the last week or so is hugely exaggerated,'' said London-based oil analyst Geoff Pyne.

''The difficulty is U.S. heating oil stocks are very big and every day that goes by is a day closer towards the end of winter ...

and that is holding back the chances of a substantial rebound,'' he added.

Analysts attributed Friday's rebound to short-covering ahead of the long holiday weekend in the United States. Floor trading at the New York Mercantile Exchange will be closed on Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Analysts said the rally would be short-lived as the market had room to fall further.

''The dramatic and impulsive decline...suggests that the downside remains in focus,'' Barclays Capital analysts said in a report.

''Beyond the short term, in the absence of a run above $57.50, crude oil remains vulnerable to the downside and further weakness towards $50 over the rest of the month.'' The slide has rung alarm bells within OPEC. Some ministers have said in the past that prices should be kept above $60.

OPEC President Mohammed al-Hamli, also the UAE oil minister, told Reuters on Thursday that the group is deeply concerned by the drop in oil prices this year and stands ready if necessary to bolster the world market.

''People have figured out that there might be some OPEC action this weekend. They may consult by phone and decide to hold an emergency meeting,'' said Tony Nunan, manager at Tokyo-based Mitsubishi Corp.'s risk management unit.

OPEC first pledged to implement a 1.2 million barrel cut from Nov.1, later increased to 1.7 million cut from Feb 1. to shore up prices.

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