FX.co ★ Oil Futures Settle Higher Again

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Thursday, extending gains from the previous session, as optimism about higher demand from China outweighed concerns about inflation and interest rate hikes.

West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April settled at $78.16 a barrel, gaining $0.47 or about 0.6%.

Brent crude futures were up $0.31 or 0.37% at $84.62 a barrel a little while ago.

Data showing a faster than expected increase in consumer prices in some major Eurpean countries raised expectations of interest rate hikes by the ECB.

The minutes from ECB's latest meeting also suggested that the central bank will continue to raise interest rates in the coming months.

"China's improving demand outlook could still take WTI crude towards the $80 level, but it might struggle to do so if this dollar rebound shows no signs of slowing down," says Edward Moya, Senior Market Analyst, OANDA.