Oil up but off highs on output freeze talk, gasoline tumbles

By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil rallied on Monday before settling off its highs on scepticism over Venezuela's bid to talk up a potential OPEC output freeze and on indications U.S. crude stockpiles had risen last week. Clashes in Libya that foiled a restart of crude exports from key ports, along with higher equity prices on Wall Street and a weaker dollar, helped oil end higher. Brent crude futures settled up 18 cents, or 0.4 percent, at $45.95 a barrel.