Brent crude boosts gains, settles 1% higher

Oil drilling rigs

Oil prices closed higher on Thursday as investors assessed the decline in US inventories for the seventh consecutive week, alongside expectations for strong demand driven by cold weather.

At settlement, the prices of Brent crude futures for March delivery rose by 1% or $0.76 to $76.92 a barrel, after touching $75.68.

Similarly, the prices of US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for February delivery increased by 0.8% or $0.60 to $73.92 a barrel, after reaching $72.84.

Analysts at JP Morgan expect global oil demand to grow in January by about 1.4 million barrels per day (bpd) year-on-year (YoY) to101.4 million bpd. This is primarily attributed to increased usage of heating fuel in the Northern Hemisphere.

"Global oil demand is expected to remain strong throughout January, fueled by colder than normal winter conditions that are boosting heating fuel consumption, as well as an earlier onset of travel activities in China for the Lunar New Year holidays,” the analysts said.