The price of US oil recovered to trade above $105 a barrel today, having earlier fallen on the back of a sharp drop in Japan's Nikkei stock index.
West Texas Intermediate, the benchmark for US crude, was up 57 cents to $105.27 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The contract fell 79 cents to close at $104.70 on Friday in New York.
Earlier in the session, the WTI traded as low as $103.87 as the benchmark index of Japan's stock market fell by over 3% due to the strengthening yen and worries about China's economy.
However, a solid performance by European markets and an anticipated steady opening on Wall Street helped support oil prices.
Brent crude, which is traded on the ICE Futures exchange in London, was up 64 cents to $107.81 a barrel.
Traders in all financial markets have a lot to digest this week. The main focus will be on whether the US Federal Reserve will provide more clarity as to when it will start scaling back its monetary stimulus.
The Fed has been buying $85 billion of financial assets a month in an attempt to keep long-term borrowing rates low and help shore up the US economic recovery. A lot of that money has found its way flowing round financial markets and that has helped oil prices. However, the programme is widely expected to be scaled down later this year as the economy improves.
Oil prices have also swung to the tune of developments in China. Last week, they fell as China, a major energy consumer, decided to press ahead with painful economic restructuring and forgo another round of stimulus even though growth has slowed.
The price of US oil broke above $100 on July 3 for the first time since May 2012, mostly due to falling US crude stockpiles and increased interest from financial investors.
