April 26 Oil prices bounced on Tuesday, steadying after a sharp fall of 4 in the previous session as worries over China39;s fuel demand were soothed by the central bank39;s pledge to support an economy hit by renewed COVID19 curbs.

Brent crude futures were at 103.50, up 1.18, or 1.15, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate contracts climbed to 99.41, up 87 cents, or 0.88 at 0448 GMT.

Both contracts had settled down around 4 on Monday, with Brent falling as much as 7 a barrel in the session and WTI dipping roughly 6 a barrel.

China will keep liquidity reasonably ample in financial markets, the People39;s Bank of China PBOC said in a statement on Tuesday, a day after the central bank announced a cut to banks39; foreign exchange reserve ratio to support its economy.

Coming on the heels of the central bank cutting the foreign currency reserve requirement ratio for banks, it provided some relief to investors, energy market analysis provider Vanda Insights said in a note.

China39;s capital Beijing expanded its COVID19 mass testing from one district this week to most of the city of nearly 22 million, as they braced for an imminent lockdown similar to Shanghai39;s stringent curbs.

The hit from Chinese lockdowns is over a million barrels a day and the testing of 12 districts over the next five days will determine the next major move for crude prices, wrote Edward Moya, a senior market analyst for OANDA in a note.

Separately, in a bearish signal for oil markets, five analysts…