WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Crude oil futures rebounded from early losses to settle slightly higher on Thursday, gaining for the first time in three sessions.
Worries about energy demand outlook following a massive surge in new coronavirus cases in India weighed on oil prices early on in the session.
Prices recovered by mid morning, but retreated and slipped into negative territory before noon, but moved up again subsequently, amid reports showing robust energy demand in the U.S. and China.
West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended up by $0.08 or nearly 0.1% at $61.43 a barrel.
Oil also found support on news about production in Libya seeing a significant drop. Libya's oil production fell to about 1 million barrels per day in recent days and there is likelihood of further decline due to budgetary issues, according to the National Oil Corporation. Production fell from about 1.3 million bpd, the NOC said.
Data from the Energy Information Administration on Wednesday showed an unexpected increase in crude inventories last week.
Although the Indian government has stated that lockdown will be used only as last resort, it is feared that there could be widespread shutdowns and restrictions on movements if the virus spread doesn't slowdown.
Japan too has been witnessing a surge in new cases of infections, and according to reports, officials are looking at a state of emergency for Osaka and Tokyo to curb the spread.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX