REUTERS - Oil prices steadied on Thursday after falling earlier to near 12-year lows as short-covering helped crude futures rebound from sentiment dented by a tumbling Chinese stock market.
Global oil benchmark Brent was up 7 cents at $34.30 a barrel by 11:00 a.m. EST (1600 GMT) after sliding 5 percent during European trading to a low of $32.16, a level last seen in April 2004.
U.S. crude's West Texas Intermediate futures were up 15 cents at $34.12, after hitting a low of $32.10, their lowest since late 2003.
(Reporting By Barani Krishnan; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
