Oil prices were steady near $94 this afternoon after a surge of more than $4 in the previous session.
US light, sweet crude futures fell nearly $1 a barrel initially but then recovered to stand 11 cents higher at $94.50 by 12.29am. London Brent crude was down 7 cents to $93.95 a barrel.
The move by the US Federal Reserve and its counterparts in Europe, Japan, Canada and Britain to ease tight credit conditions in the financial system boosted stock markets, oil and gold yesterday.
But doubts set in today, and equity markets fell sharply, focusing on whether the banks' action would do enough to relieve tight credit conditions in the banking sector that could hit the global economy and dampen oil demand.
US stocks of distillates, which include heating oil, fell 800,000 barrels last week, according to data from the US Energy Information Administration, and US crude oil inventories fell to their lowest since March 2005.
Financial flows into oil that helped push the price close to a record $100 last month played a part in Wednesday's rally.
