FX.co ★ Oil Futures Recover After Early Weakness, Settle Sharply Higher

Crude oil prices rallied sharply on Thursday, rebounding strongly after drifting down earlier in the session amid fears of a recession and uncertainty over sanctions on Russia by the European Union.

Oil prices moved higher amid expectations of a pick up in energy demand on reports Chinese officials are planning to ease restrictions in Shanghai.

The dollar's weakness - the dollar index dropped more than 1% today - contributed significantly to the rise in oil prices.

West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended higher by $2.62 or about 2.4% at $112.21 a barrel, moving up after two successive days of losses. WTI crude futures dropped to a low of $105.13 a barrel earlier in the day.

Brent crude futures for July settled at $112.04 a barrel, gaining $2.93 or 2.7%.

Data released by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Wednesday said crude inventories dropped by 3.4 million barrels last week, as against expectations for a rise of 2.1 million barrels.

Gasoline stocks fell 4.8 million barrels in the week, nearly five times more than the expected drop, while distillate supplies increased by 1.2 million barrels, against an expected drop of 1 million barrels.