World oil prices were mixed in Asian trade today as investors reacted to moves by the US to help investment banks Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley survive a financial crisis that has shaken global markets, dealers said.
New York's main contract, light sweet crude for October delivery, was 16 cents lower at $104.39 a barrel.
Brent North Sea crude for November delivery rose 55 cents to $100.16.
The US Federal Reserve said its board had approved "the applications of Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to become bank holding companies" and authorised the Federal Reserve Bank of New York "to extend credit" to the two firms.
The extraordinary announcement yesterday places the last two independent Wall Street investment banks under supervision by bank regulators and opens a wider range of credit to the two firms.
It comes after a meltdown on Wall Street that saw the collapse of investment bank Lehman Brothers, the merger of Merrill Lynch with Bank of America, and the government bailout of insurance giant AIG.
"The stock market worldwide rebounded on Friday and this latest announcement regarding Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley simply also adds to the calm of global financial markets," said Victor Shum, an analyst at international energy consultancy Purvin and Gertz in Singapore.
The benchmark New York oil futures contract jumped more than six dollars on Friday and Brent rose more than four dollars.
