Oil prices rose sharply for a second day running on Thursday, bouncing above USD 102, as the US currency fell after major central banks further boosted liquidity on financial markets.

"The coordinated move by central banks has seen the dollar sold off and has sparked some interest in the dollar denominated commodities like oil," said Sucden analyst Nimit Khamar in London.

A weak dollar makes oil cheaper for buyers holding stronger foreign currencies.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in October, hit an intra-day high of USD 102.24 a barrel. It later stood at USD 101.17, up USD 4.01.

London's Brent North Sea crude for November soared USD 3.91 to USD 98.75 a barrel.

The US Federal Reserve day announced a 180-billion-dollar cash line to fight the global credit crisis as part of a joint campaign with other leading central banks.

Crude oil prices had surged by about USD 6 on Wednesday after the US government's lifeline to insurance giant AIG failed to reassure skittish traders and prompted a rush into commodities as a haven from the financial market storm.

"The market got oversold a couple of days ago reacting to all this bad financial news," Victor Shum of international energy consultancy Purvin and Gertz in Singapore said on Wednesday.