Brent crude oil rose slightly in choppy trade today as Hurricane Irene hit the US East Coast and traders weighed comments by US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on the economy.
Bernanke gave a speech on the ailing US economy that mentioned no new stimulus measures, pressuring both Brent and US oil.
Wall Street rebounded after initially extending losses after the speech.
Concerns that Hurricane Irene may disrupt gasoline and diesel supplies helped lift Brent and limited the dip by US crude prices.
Brent October crude rose 44 cents to $111.06 a barrel by 6.16pm having swung from $109.30 to $111.29.
US October crude fell 40 cents to $84.90 a barrel, having recovered from an intraday low of $82.95.
Thin crude trading volumes contributed to the volatility.
Brent was outpacing US trading, but both were below 350,000 lots traded and substantially below their 30-day averages.
