The price of oil was steady Wednesday after a big fall the day before as traders waited for a report on U.S. crude stockpiles. Benchmark U.S. crude for May delivery was down 2 cents to $99.71 a barrel at 0720 GMT in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract slid $1.84 to $99.74 on Tuesday, dented by soft Chinese manufacturing figures and expectations of another increase in U.S. crude stockpiles. Brent crude, used to set prices for international varieties of oil, was up 6 cents to $105.68 a barrel on the ICE exchange in London. Despite recent signs of weakening manufacturing in China, which could dent oil demand, there are new signs of life in the U.S. economy including a report from the U.S. Commerce Department earlier this week showing rising construction spending. But U.S. crude oil inventories due later Wednesday are expected to show demand […]