Oil prices steady amid global glut

Oil prices little changed Thursday amid growing supplies globally.

Oil prices plunged about 10 percent in the first three trading days of 2015 as market expected global supply to surpass the demand.

U.S. crude production rose 11,000 barrels a day to 9.13 million last week, the most in weekly data that started in January 1983, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

There was no sign that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) would cut production in response to the slump.

OPEC's production slid by 122,000 barrels a day from November to 30.24 million last month, according to a survey of Bloomberg survey.

The upbeat U.S. economic data helped boost the U.S. crude prices.

The number of American who initially applied for jobless benefits in the week ending Jan. 3 slipped 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 294,000, the U.S. Labor Department said Thursday.

Light, sweet crude for February delivery gained 14 cents to settle at 48.79 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange,while Brent crude for February delivery decreased 19 cents to close at 50.96 dollars a barrel.