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Oil prices rose slightly on Wednesday as data showed firm fuel demand in the United States, providing some relief after a 5% drop the previous day on fears of demand being harmed by increased China COVID-19 curbs and central bank interest rate hikes. A slightly weaker US dollar also supported the market, making oil cheaper for buyers holding other currencies. WTI crude CLc1 futures in the United States rose 90 cents, or 1%, to $92.54 per barrel at 0306 GMT, after falling $5.37 the previous session due to recession fears. Brent crude LCOc1 futures for October, which expire on Wednesday, rose 70 cents, or 0.7%, to $100.01 a barrel, reversing a $5.78 loss on Tuesday. LCOc2, the more active November contract, was up 96 cents, or 1%, at $98.80 per barrel Since the Ukraine conflict began six months ago, price swings have rattled hedge funds and speculators and thinned trading, causing the market to whipsaw even more, as seen on Tuesday. "I can't emphasize enough that the lack of liq...

      A late burst of buying erased some of the stock market’s losses Thursday, leaving indexes mixed on Wall Street though still on pace to end lower for the week. The Standard & Poor’s 500 rose 0.3% after having been down 1.3% earlier in the day. The benchmark index’s positive turn in the last 10 minutes of trading ended a four-day losing streak. The Dow Jones industrial average also bounced back from an early slide to finish with a 0.5% gain, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite fell 0.3%. Several measures of small and midsize companies also lost ground, including the Russell 2000, which closed 1.2% lower. The mixed finish for stocks comes as traders look ahead to the Labor Department’s latest monthly job market snapshot Friday. The Federal Reserve will consider the August update on job and wage growth as it determines further interest rate increases in its bid to slow the economy enough to bring down inflation. “We’ll be able to get a better read on markets tomor...