Crude oil prices have fallen below $100 a barrel on concerns about demand for oil after weak US economic data.
Oil prices recovered on Wednesday after dipping below $100 a barrel, helped by a weaker dollar.
The main contract for US light crude had fallen 98 cents to $99.93 a barrel in US trading, as it continued to pull back from last week's $111 record high.
US light sweet crude closed 36 cents higher at $101.22 a barrel after falling as low as $99.40 early on.
US consumer confidence fell to a five-year low and house prices suffered their biggest fall in 21 years.
Oil prices were boosted by the weaker dollar, as investors switch money into commodities when the US currency falls.
Analysts said fears of a severe economic downturn in the US could keep oil below $100 in the short term.
It is the first rise for crude oil prices in four sessions. Prices have fallen more than $10 a barrel since last week's record.
"The question is how bad the US economy is going to be, " said Tony Nunan, a risk management executive at Tokyo-based Mitsubishi.
There is concern that the slowing US economy will hit demand for oil.
Modest strength in the dollar and Saudi Arabia's announcement that it plans to increase oil output has also helped to calm investor enthusiasm for crude.
"There is a realisation in the market that the fundamentals really don't justify prices to be so far above $100," said Gerard Burg, a resource analyst at the National Australia Bank.
Yet analysts cautioned that expected further interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve, the US central bank, could see the dollar weaken again and oil prices rise as a result.
"It's quite possible for the conditions that have pushed oil prices higher to be re-established," said David Moore, a commodity strategist with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney.
"US interest rates are low and they will be cut further."
Gold was trading at $926 per ounce, well below the all-time peak of $1,033.90 seen earlier this month.
