Oil prices jump, but oversupply worries persist

Oil prices jumped as much as 3 percent on Friday to win back a chunk of the ground they lost in the previous session, but growth in U.S. crude stockpiles and ongoing concerns about the global economy kept markets under pressure.

Brent crude was up $1.18, or 2.26 percent, at $53.34 a barrel at 0219 GMT, having earlier risen as much as 3.1 percent. It dropped 4.24 percent, or $2.31, the day before to settle at $52.16 per barrel.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures, were at $45.62 a barrel, up 2.26 percent, or $1.01, after earlier rising 3.6 percent. They ended Thursday down 3.48 percent, or $1.61, at $44.61 a barrel.

Oil prices fell to their lowest in more than a year on Thursday, a day after their biggest one-day rally in two years, pulled down by worries about the global economy and a supply glut.

“For the time being, the stock market and the oil market will echo each other,” said Ahn Yea-Ha, commodity analyst at Kiwoom Securities in Seoul.