NYMEX crude gains in Asia as investors eye demand prospects

Investing.com - Crude oil in Asia rose on Friday with support coming from foreasts that demand may soak up surplus supplies as central banks round the globe spur easy policies to boost growth.

WTI crude oil on The New York Mercantile Exchange rose 0.64% to $51.09 a barrel.

On the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), Brent crude oil for April delivery traded at $61.21 a barrel on Thursday.

The spread between brent and WTI inched above $10 a barrel, after hovering around $9.78 on Wednesday. Earlier this week, traders pushed the spread to around the $13 level.

Overnight, cude oil prices remained virtually unchanged on Thursday in spite of continuing attacks by Islamic State militants that have forced the closure of nearly a dozen oil fields in Libya over the last week.

The moderate price changes on Thursday defied a trend of extreme volatility in oil markets. Before trading on Thursday, crude oil prices moved in either an up or down direction by 2% in 27 of the last 40 trading days. Exxon Mobil (NYSE:NYSE:XOM) CEO Rex Tillerson told CNBC on Thursday that oil prices could remain on a volatile path beyond 2015.

"We need to pick up on market demand," Tillerson said. "If you look at the performance of the U.S. economy, it's okay but it's not robust. Europe is still struggling with declining demand and China actually slowed its rate of energy demand growth. All of those are conspiring to create this imbalance which is why I have indicated that people need to live with this for awhile."

Tillerson's comments came one day after U.S. data indicated that oil supplies nationwide reached its highest level ever, deepening concerns that the price of crude could plunge further.

However, central banks in China and India cut rates in the past week and Japana dn the European Central Bank continue easy policies designed to spur growth.