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Analysts said it was unlikely that the more than 2 percent
rally was related to the ECB's proposed monetary easing program.
"It would be hard to relate this to the ECB decision today," aid
Harry Tchilinguirian, an oil analyst at BNP Paribas in London.
"If indeed we get the decisions that's expected, we should see a
strengthening of the dollar which wouldn't fit with a rally in
oil prices."
Brent crude futures traded at $50.30 a barrel by 1215 GMT, up
$1.27. U.S. crude was up $1.06 at $48.84, having reached a high
of $49 earlier in the session.
The ECB's Executive Board has proposed a programme that would
allow it to buy 50 billion euros ($58 billion) of bonds a month
starting in March, a euro zone source said. The expected
stimulus programme has pressured the euro and sent the dollar,
seen as a safe haven, soaring.
A strong dollar, buoyed by an expected U.S. interest rate
increase and an American economy that is growing while Europe
and Asia slow, dents demand for dollar-priced commodities by
making them expensive for holders of other currencies.
Oil prices have already more than halved since June last year
due to oversupply and a fall in global demand.
CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said the expected ECB
so-called "quantitative easing" policy, printing money to buy
sovereign bonds, was unlikely to affect oil prices in the long
term.
"I find it difficult to think that anything the ECB announces
today is really going to alter the supply-demand dynamics with
respect to oil prices," he said.
"We may get some intra-day volatility, but will it change the
overall direction of the oil price? I doubt it."
Analysts expect U.S. crude stocks to have increased by roughly
2.6 million barrels in the last week, further depressing oil
prices. Data from the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy
Information Administration (EIA) will be released at 1600 GMT
Thursday. EIA/S
In a formation known as a "contango", Brent crude prices for
delivery this March are $10 a barrel cheaper than those for
March 2016, making it attractive to buy oil now and put it into
storage for sale later, traders say. ($1 = 0.8620 euros)
(Additional reporting by Henning Gloystein in Singapore,;
Editing by Christopher Johnson)
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