Crude mixed in Asian trade

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in May, rose 37 cents to $107.48 a barrel in the afternoon.

Brent North Sea crude for May delivery shed 38 cents to $122.50.

"Sentiments are not as bullish as before and crude oil could continue to dip slightly, looking for support at $105 per barrel," said Ong Yi Ling, investment analyst for Phillip Futures in Singapore.

"There are also concerns that the high crude oil prices could see economic growth being stifled, and you see prices correcting rather sharply," she said.

Crude prices fell by six percent on Monday and Tuesday before rebounding to current levels.

Concerns about tight supplies spurred by revolts in the Arab world had driven crude oil prices recently above two-year highs.

But a warning from Goldman Sachs on Tuesday that investors should take profits from the overinflated commodities markets sent oil prices tumbling.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Monday that soaring oil prices were a risk to global growth.

It warned in its latest global economic forecasts that "the key downside risk to growth relates to the potential for oil prices to surprise further on the upside because of supply disruptions".

The IMF said its forecast for the world economy to grow 4.4 per cent this year assumed an average oil price of $107 a barrel.

Meanwhile, investors continued to monitor the situation in the oil-producing Middle East and North Africa region.

In a bid to protect civilians from attacks by Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi, US fighter jets were still carrying out bombing raids on air defences, days after indicating US combat aircraft had withdrawn from NATO operations, the Pentagon said on Wednesday.