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 Brent crude futures were up 49 cents at $44.63 a barrel by
0650 ET.
International benchmark Brent is still down more than 10 percent
this month and 22 percent this year, having slumped from as high as
$115 in 2014.
"People are seeing oil at these very low levels and so they want to
step in," said Hans van Cleef, senior energy economist at ABN Amro
in Amsterdam.
"Some have a focus on an outlook for increased demand and a view
that at some point the market will balance, but the oversupply is
capping gains."
Any rise is seen as vulnerable, with Brent not having closed higher
for two consecutive days since early October.
U.S. crude futures last traded at $40.87 a barrel, up 12 cents from
their last settlement. The contract fell below $40 for the first
time since August on Wednesday.
Traders are preparing for another downward turn in prices by March
2016, market data suggests, as what is expected to be an unusually
warm winter dents demand just as Iran's resurgent crude exports hit
global markets after sanctions end.
Overall, oil markets remain oversupplied, with rising U.S.
stockpiles the most visible evidence.
Goldman Sachs said on Thursday there was still a downside risk to
oil prices "as storage utilization continues to climb". The bank
added that "we don't believe that current prices present an
appealing entry point".
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U.S. crude inventories rose by 252,000 barrels last week to 487.3
million barrels, close to record highs, according to the Energy
Information Administration, highlighting that more oil is being
produced than is needed.
Because of the glut, producers are scrambling to offer discounts in
an effort to defend market share against their competition.
OPEC's second-biggest producer, Iraq, has started to sell some crude
grades for as little as $30 a barrel, trade sources said, acting as
a further drag on futures.
Big oil suppliers have started requiring prepayment when selling
cargoes of crude and refined products to Venezuela's PDVSA, a bid to
curb potential risks from the state-run company's well-known
cashflow woes, sources involved in the deals told Reuters.
(Additional reporting by Henning Gloystein in Singapore; Editing by
Dale Hudson and William Hardy)
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