Oil price fell this evening, as US refiners made progress in restarting operations following Hurricane Ike.
US crude fell 79 cents to $96.37 a barrel, having touched a high of $102.24 earlier. It had gained $6 on Wednesday. London Brent crude traded down 45 cents to $94.39 a barrel.
Petrol futures dragged crude down from earlier highs as energy companies continued work to restore operations shut by Hurricane Ike. Five of the 16 refineries closed by Ike have restarted.
Prices had soared back above the psychological $100 a barrel level early in the session as a move by global central banks to add liquidity to money markets rallied world stock markets.
Gold prices have also risen sharply in recent days as a result of turmoil on world financial markets. The price rose almost 9% to $847.30 an ounce in New York last night and broke through $900 today.
Oil prices had fallen heavily from record levels above $147 in early July on worries the global economy is slowing and causing a dent in energy demand.
But prices gained some recent strength from attacks this week on oil facilities in key African crude producer Nigeria.
