Investing.com - Oil prices regained ground in European trade on Thursday, after plunging more than 4% in the prior session after bearish U.S. inventory data heightened concerns about a global glut.
Crude oil for August delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange tacked on 52 cents, or 1.16%, to trade at $45.27 a barrel by 07:52GMT, or 3:52AM ET.
A day earlier, New York-traded oil tumbled $2.05, or 4.38%, after weekly U.S. supply data showed a lower than expected fall in crude stockpiles and a surprising increase in gasoline inventories.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said that crude oil inventories fell by 2.5 million barrels last week to 521.8 million. Market analysts' expected a crude-stock decline of 3.0 million barrels.
The report also showed that gasoline inventories increased by 1.2 million barrels, disappointing expectations for a decline of 432,000 barrels, while distillate stockpiles jumped by 4.1 million barrels, the biggest weekly gain since January.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil for September delivery inched up 40 cents, or 0.86%, to $46.66 a barrel.
On Wednesday, London-traded Brent futures sank $2.21, or 4.56%. following bearish comments from the International Energy Agency.
The global glut in oil is refusing to ease and acts as a major dampener on crude prices despite robust demand growth and steep declines in non-OPEC production, the IEA said on Wednesday.
"Although market balance is upon us, the existence of very high oil stocks is a threat to the recent stability of oil prices," the Paris-based organization said in its monthly oil market report released earlier.