THE price of oil had a sudden burst yesterday after the stock market tried to put the brakes on a four-day skid.

Benchmark oil for August delivery rose US$1.49 to close at US$95.18 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil sank by US$4.55 a barrel, or 4.7 percent, on Thursday and Friday after the Federal Reserve spooked investors by signaling the end of a bond-buying program that has boosted the economy.

Oil fell initially yesterday because of growing worries that China's decision to clamp down on informal lending could hamper growth in a major energy consuming country. Oil dropped as low as US$92.67 a barrel.

Once stocks clawed back from their lowest levels of the day, oil moved higher, gaining nearly US$2 a barrel in two hours. The Dow Jones industrial average fell nearly 250 points in the first half-hour of trading yesterday, then finished with a loss of 140 points.

Brent crude, which is used to price oil used by many US refineries to make gasoline, rose 25 cents to finish at US$101.16 a barrel.

In other energy futures trading on the Nymex, natural gas slipped 3 cents to finish at US$3.74 per 1,000 cubic feet (28.32 cubic meters).