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Brent crude futures were up 70 cents, or 0.78%, to $90.53 per
barrel by 1054 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI)
crude was up 71 cents, or 86%, at $83.65.
Prices rose by more than $1 earlier in the session on news that
crude oil demand in China, the world's largest oil importer, is
rebounding, having been dampened by strict COVID-19
restrictions.
At least three Chinese state oil refineries and a privately run
mega refiner are considering increasing runs by up to 10% in
October from September, eyeing stronger demand and a possible
surge in fourth-quarter fuel exports, people with knowledge of
the matter said.
Meanwhile, Russia pushed ahead on Thursday with its biggest
conscription since World War Two, raising concerns an escalation
of the war in Ukraine could further hurt supply.
"[Russian President Vladimir Putin's] frequent irrational
actions and reactions are what will keep the market volatile and
violent on occasions," said Tamas Varga, oil analyst at London
brokerage PVM Oil Associates.
Keeping a cap on prices, the Bank of England raised its key
interest rate by 50 basis points to 2.25% and said it would
continue to "respond forcefully, as necessary" to inflation,
despite the economy entering recession.
Following the Federal Reserve's hefty 75 bps rise on Wednesday,
rate increases also came thick and fast from the Swiss National
Bank, Norges bank and Indonesia's central bank, with a further
hike expected from the South African Reserve bank later in the
day.
"This just shows how synchronised this current tightening cycle
is," Deutsche Bank said.
The Fed also signalled on Wednesday that U.S. borrowing costs
would keep rising this year, in a move that sent Brent and WTI
to a near two-week low.
Further pressure followed stock builds. U.S. crude inventories
rose by 1.1 million barrels in the week to Sept. 16 to 430.8
million barrels, smaller than analysts' expectations in a
Reuters poll for a 2.2 million-barrel rise.
(Reporting by Rowena Edwards in LondonAdditional reporting by
Muyu Xu in SingaporeEditing by Mark Potter, Kirsten Donovan)
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