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Oil prices rose on Thursday after falling earlier as investors assessed the risks of a recession and how demand for fuel will be affected by higher interest rates and tight supplies.
Brent crude futures rose 38 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $112.12 by 1204 GMT, after falling to $108.04 earlier in the session.
US West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 32 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $106.51 after touching a session low of $102.32.
The benchmark fell three percent in the previous session. Both are at their lowest levels since mid-May.
Investors continue to assess how cautious they should be with the possibility of central banks driving the global economy into a recession as they try to curb inflation by raising interest rates.
US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said on Wednesday that the bank was not trying to create a recession as it sought to curb inflation, but was fully committed to keeping prices under control even if that raised the risk of recession.
Meanwhile, Russia continues to find alternative buyers for its oil.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Russia was in the process of changing the course of its trade and oil exports to countries from the BRICS group of emerging economies due to Western sanctions.
China’s imports of Russian crude oil in May rose 55 percent from a year earlier, setting a record.
Reuters also reported that India is providing safety certificates for dozens of ships operated by a subsidiary of Russian shipping group Sovcom Float, allowing oil to be exported to India and elsewhere after Western licensing authorities withdraw their services.
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden called on Congress on Wednesday to approve a three-month suspension of the federal gasoline tax to help combat record high prices at gas stations and temporarily relieve the burden on American families this summer.
The US Energy Information Administration said it will delay the release of its weekly oil data, which was due to be released on Thursday, until next week at the earliest due to system problems.
