Oil prices rise after sharp slide

Oil prices ended higher on Thursday after losing for two consecutive sessions.

Oil prices dropped 6 percent on Tuesday and Wednesday as worries about a global supply glut weighed on the market.

Global oil demand growth is slowing at a faster pace than initially predicted, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its September report published on Tuesday.

"For 2016, a gain of 1.3 mb/d is expected - a downgrade of 0.1 mb/d on our previous forecast due to a more pronounced 3Q16 slowdown. Momentum eases further to 1.2 mb/d in 2017 as underlying macroeconomic conditions remain uncertain," said the report.

Moreover, U.S. inventories of distillates, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 4.6 million barrels in the week to Sept. 9, versus analysts' expectations of an increase of 1.5 million barrels, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in its weekly report Thursday.

Meanwhile, U.S. gasoline stocks rose by 567,000 barrels last week, also beating market estimates, according to the EIA.

Oil prices rebounded mildly on Thursday after investors bought to cover short positions.

The West Texas Intermediate for October delivery added 0.33 U.S. dollars to settle at 43.91 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for November delivery gained 0.74 U.S. dollars to close at 46.59 U.S. dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.

Source : XINHUA