Investing.com - Oil prices were little changed in European trade on Thursday, steadying below the prior session’s three-month highs as investors shifted their focus back to a global supply glut.
Crude oil for April delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange shed 4 cents, or 0.1% to trade at $38.25 a barrel by 09:05GMT, or 4:05AM ET.
A day earlier, New York-traded oil futures rallied to $38.51, the most since December 9, before closing at $38.29, up $1.79, or 4.9%.
Wednesday’s gains came after weekly supply data showed demand for gasoline and distillates was far higher than expectations, despite oil stockpiles climbing to a fresh all-time high above 520 million barrels.
Since falling to 13-year lows at $26.05 on February 11, Nymex oil prices have rebounded by approximately 35% as a decline in U.S. shale production boosted sentiment.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil for May delivery dipped 11 cents, or 0.27%, to trade at $40.96 a barrel. On Wednesday, London-traded Brent futures jumped $1.42, or 3.58%.
Brent soared to a three-month peak of $41.47 earlier this week amid continued hopes major oil producers will meet later this month to discuss a potential output freeze.
Brent futures are up by roughly 30%, since briefly dropping below $30 a barrel on February 11. Short-covering began in mid-February after Saudi Arabia and fellow OPEC members Qatar and Venezuela agreed with non-OPEC member Russia to freeze output at January levels, provided other oil exporters joined in.
Global crude production is outpacing demand following a boom in U.S. shale oil and after a decision by OPEC last year not to cut production in order to defend market share, driving down prices by more than 70% over the past 20 months.
Meanwhile, Brent's premium to the West Texas Intermediate crude contract stood at $2.71 a barrel, compared to a gap of $2.78 by close of trade on Wednesday.