Oil prices recuperated on Thursday from previous trading declines on reports that Russia and Ukraine are making significant progress on a tentative 15-point peace plan.
A warning from the International Energy Agency (IEA) on the possibility of a loss of nearly 3 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil in April due to sanctions on Russia also supported the price revival.
International benchmark Brent crude was trading at $100.31 per barrel at 0647GMT for a 2.33% gain after closing the previous session at $98.02 a barrel.
American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) traded at $97.09 per barrel at the same time for a 2.15% increase after the previous session closed at $95.04 a barrel.
Brent crude rebounded from lows of around $97 a barrel after the IEA warned of a speculative shut-in of 3 million bpd of Russian oil supply starting from April. Moreover, the Agency said "losses could increase should restrictions or public condemnation escalate."
Although unprecedented sanctions imposed on Russia so far exclude energy trade, for the most part, the IEA said major oil companies, trading houses, shipping firms and banks have backed away from doing business with the country.
The downward price movements on Wednesday came following reports of significant progress in talks between Ukraine and Russia on the tentative peace plan, including a ceasefire and a Russian withdrawal if Kyiv declares neutrality and accepts limits on its armed forces.
Further downward pressure came with an unexpected rise in US crude oil stocks.
US commercial crude oil inventories rose by 4.3 million barrels last week, according to the latest data released by the Energy Information Administration (EIA). This increase outpaced by far the market expectation of a 1.9 million-barrel fall.
Gasoline inventories, however, declined by 3.6 million barrels to 241 million barrels over that period.
