Oil prices have rebounded after falling for two consecutive days on Tuesday and Wednesday.
However, the gains were capped by a stronger dollar hitting a five-week high and investors avoiding riskier assets in the face of volatility in equity markets.
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US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for April delivery increased 13 cents, or 0.2%, trading at $61.77 a barrel, while Brent crude for May delivery climbed 17 cents, or 0.3%, trading at $64.90, according to Reuters.
The new front-month contract is a result of the expiry of April contract on Wednesday.
Rise in US crude stockpiles triggered a sharp drop in both the oil futures.
Overall, there was nearly 5% drop in prices in February, which represents the first monthly fall in six months.
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By GlobalDataMitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting senior economist Tomomichi Akuta was quoted as saying by the news agency: “An extended large decline in equities has been prompting investors to avoid risk assets such as oil.”
Based on data released by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), US crude stockpiles soared by three million barrels last week, exceeding analyst expectations.
Oil prices have experienced sustained pressure from increasing US production this year.
The EIA noted that production marginally fell to 9.949 million barrels per day (bpd) in December from 10.057 million bpd in November.
Meanwhile, OPEC and Russia continue their efforts to ease the impact of rising US production and help increase oil prices.
A survey conducted by Reuters on Wednesday revealed that the group recorded its lowest oil production in February in a period of ten months.
