MOSCOW, (Sputnik) — Crude prices closed more than 4 percent higher on Thursday as the continuing conflict in Libya and an expected boost in oil demand following China's central bank easing helped the market rebound.
The upswing comes even as US oil inventories registered an 80-year record jump of a staggering 6.3 million barrels to reach 413.1 million in a single week ending January 30 revising upwards an earlier estimate of just 3.75 million.
Some analysts doubt the current oil price rebound will be sustained as supplies still far outweigh demand.
"The increasingly wide oversupply and weak demand imbalance for this resource won't allow a sustained recovery for oil in the near term," said Nicholas Teo, market analyst with CMC Markets in Singapore.
