Oil prices bounced on Thursday, as the market tried to recover from the massive rout in the prior session.
The West Texas Intermediate for April delivery jumped 4.85 U.S. dollars, or 23.8 percent, to settle at 25.22 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for May delivery gained 3.59 dollars, or 14.4 percent, to close at 28.47 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
The rally followed an oil collapse. The U.S. crude on Wednesday plunged 24.4 percent to 20.37 dollars a barrel, marking its lowest level since Feb. 20, 2002, according to Dow Jones Market Data. Brent crude shed 13.4 percent to 24.88 dollars a barrel, with prices ending at their lowest since May 2003.
Market volatility is likely to continue as weaker demand tied to the coronavirus impact and price-war fears persist, experts noted.
"In the short term, global oil demand will decline much more quickly due to the lockdown in more and more countries around the globe," said Carsten Fritsch, energy analyst at Commerzbank Research, in a note Thursday.
A massive oversupply is likely to get bigger in the second quarter due to the spat between major oil producers, he added.
Earlier this month, a failure to strike a deal on oil production cuts between the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, led by Russia, had sparked fears of a possible price war.
Saudi Arabia, a key OPEC member, and Russia already announced a significant increase in oil production.
