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 A respite from bearish economic news in China, where markets are
closed for public holidays for the rest of the week, also helped
hold oil prices rangebound after weeks of huge swings.
Brent slipped 15 cents to $50.35 a barrel by 1126 GMT, having gained
94 cents in the previous session.
U.S. crude <CLc1> fell 2 cents to $46.23 a barrel, up from the day's
low of $45.65 and after settling 84 cents higher on Wednesday.
Olivier Jakob, managing director of PetroMatrix, said the market was
quietening down after extreme moves, with holidays in the two
largest oil consuming countries - the United States and China -
helping temper the appetite for risk taking.
"We're probably starting to stabilize" after several days of flat
price volatility, Jakob said, adding that the U.S. Labor Day long
weekend would "lessen a little bit the appetite" for taking
positions in the market.
U.S. crude has see-sawed, climbing 27.5 percent over three trading
sessions to Monday's close - its biggest such gain since August 1990
- after plunging to a 6-1/2-year low of $37.75 a barrel early last
week.
Brent has been similarly erratic, gaining 28 percent over the last
week in August before dipping back to as low as $47.74 a barrel on
Wednesday.
A European Central Bank meeting later on Thursday, in which the bank
is expected to lower its growth and inflation forecasts, boosted
investor hopes that global monetary policy will be kept looser for
longer.
U.S. payroll data on Friday is also on the horizon.
"We've cooled off slightly" in terms of oil volatility, said Kash
Kamal, analyst with Sucden.
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"This seems to be driven largely by hopes of further intervention by
central banks. Short term, this is bullish for crude, but that
optimism could fade quickly as investors are reminded of the
fundamentals."
U.S. dollar strength that makes oil more expensive for the holders
of other currencies and stock builds in the United States,
forestalled any sustained price gains.
U.S. crude stocks gained 4.7 million barrels to 455.4 million in the
week to Aug. 28, the biggest one-week rise since April, data from
the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed. Analysts had
expected inventories to remain unchanged.
(Additional reporting by Keith Wallis; in Singapore; editing by
William Hardy and David Clarke)
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