Mubasher: Oil prices rose on Thursday after a mixed-performances dominated the session.

Reuters reported earlier that Russia is becoming increasingly convinced it needs to reduce oil output in tandem with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

Nymex futures for January delivery jumped by 2.3% to 51.54 per barrel, after going below $50 for the first time in 13 months.

Meanwhile, Brent crude rose by 1.3% to $59.5 a barrel.

Crude prices began Thursday’s trading on a negative note as it was affected by the inventory data revealed on Wednesday.

The weekly report of the Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed that crude oil inventories in the United States increased by 3.6 million barrels during the week that ended 23 November.

On Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported an estimated inventory increase of 3.453 million barrels.