For the moment, the dip in prices overcame earlier market jitters over the escalating violence in Egypt as pro- and anti-government supporters clashed in a widening of an unrest that began more than a week ago.

By 10:45 a.m. EST (1545 GMT), Brent crude for March delivery fell 25 cents to $102.09 a barrel, after earlier in the day hitting $103.27, the highest front-month price since Sept. 26, 2008.

At one point, Brent North Sea crude for delivery in March climbed to $103.37 a barrel — the highest level since Sept. 26, 2008.

US crude for March dipped 38 cents to $90.48, off its early high of $92.05.

Meanwhile, stocks dipped Thursday. The S & P 500 — the benchmark for most US mutual funds — fell 2 points, or 0.1 percent, to 1,302 in midday trading.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 10 points, or 0.1 percent, to 12,033. The Nasdaq composite gained less than a point to 2,749.

European stock markets retreated and the euro dropped lower against the dollar on Thursday as the ECB kept interest rates on hold, better-than-expected US data and ongoing unrest in Egypt.

London's FTSE 100 index of leading shares dipped 0.28 percent to 5,983.34 points, and in Paris the CAC-40 dropped 0.74 percent to 4,036.59 points.

In Frankfurt, the DAX bucked the trend to close up 0.14 percent at 7,193.68 points.