Oil prices were steady Thursday after jumping more than US$3 a barrel in the previous session after the U.S. government reported a larger than expected decline in gasoline stockpiles, AP reported. Traders brushed aside a large increase in crude oil inventories reported by the U.S. Energy Department Wednesday, focusing instead on the third straight week that gasoline inventories fell. Light, sweet crude for May delivery fell 18 cents to US$104.65 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midday in Singapore. The contract on Wednesday jumped US$3.85 to settle at US$104.83 a barrel.
