LONDON: Brent crude oil recovered from early losses to trade above $97 a barrel on Thursday as concerns about potential supply disruptions in the Middle East helped the market recover from a two-year low.
But prices were not far from the lows reached the previous day as abundant supply and a strong dollar largely outweighed concerns about threats to supply from the unrest.
Brent gained 45 cents to $97.40 a barrel by 1224 GMT. It had hit its lowest since July 2012 at $95.60 on Wednesday.
U.S. air strikes targeted Syrian refineries controlled by Islamic State. Nineteen people were killed overnight, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
U.S. crude, also known as West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was up 60 cents at $93.40 a barrel.
"The prospect of more air strikes might be making people jittery, but I don't think this recovery will last," Christopher Bellew, senior vice president with Jefferies Bache, said.
Strength in WTI, driven by a stock draw and strong U.S. refining margins, was also supporting Brent prices. The discount of WTI to Brent reached around $4 a barrel on Thursday, approaching the narrowest level in five months.
The dollar hit a four-year high, which dampened demand for commodities priced in the U.S. currency at a time when global economic growth is already lacklustre, particularly in the euro zone and China. The euro reached a 22-month low as speculation grew that the region would need another stimulus package to spur growth.
Scattered attacks by rival militias continued across Libya, but its overall national production has risen.
Libya's oil output has climbed to 925,000 barrels per day (bpd), with the major El Sharara oilfield at 200,000 bpd, an official with the National Oil Corp said on Thursday.
Officials at Libya's eastern Hariga oil port said it had fully recovered from eight months of blockades by protesters and was exporting more than 120,000 bpd.
Last week Abdullah al-Badri, secretary-general of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, said he expected the group to lower its output target.
But on Tuesday, United Arab Emirates Oil Minister Suhail bin Mohammed al-Mazroui said it was premature to decide before OPEC meets in November.
OPEC's top oil producer and the world's largest oil exporter, Saudi Arabia, pumped 9.597 million bpd in August, an industry source said on Wednesday.
Although that was down by 408,000 bpd from around 10 million bpd in July, the amount of crude supplied to the market inched up to 9.688 million bpd in August.
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