Oil steadies after early slide after Brussels attacks

By Barani Krishnan

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices were steady on Tuesday as shares on Wall Street pared losses and the euro recovered against the dollar after deadly blasts in Brussels prompted an initial flight risk from financial markets.

Brent was up 24 cents at $41.78 a barrel by 10:53 a.m. EDT (1453 GMT), after hitting a session low of $40.97 earlier.

U.S. crude rose 12 cents to $41.64, recovering from an intraday low of $40.77.

Stock prices on Wall Street were flat along with the euro, rebounding from earlier weakness.

Oil prices have traded in concert with equities for most of this year. A weakening dollar against the euro has also made greenback-denominated oil more affordable for buyers using the single currency.

"Oil is very much distracted by macro events today, gauging the sentiment in broader markets and taking its lead from that," said Matthew Smith, director of commodity research at the New York-headquartered Clipper Data.

Thirty-four people were killed in attacks on Brussels airport and a rush-hour metro train in the Belgian capital, according to public broadcaster VRT, triggering security alerts across Europe and bringing some cross-border traffic to a halt.

Oil prices had also been pressured earlier by Libya's decision not to attend a gathering in Doha next month intended to help OPEC and other major oil producers cut a deal to keep output at January's levels.

(Additional reporting by Amanda Cooper in LONDON; Editing by Marguerita Choy)