Crude prices rose Thursday on hopes that a possible U.S. economic stimulus plan could raise energy demand, Xinhua reported.
Crude prices plunged earlier in the day on weak economic data and a report from the Department of Energy, which said crude inventories rose by 6.1 million barrels, or 1.9 percent, to 332.7 million barrels.
Gasoline inventories rose by 6.5 million barrels, or 3 percent, to 220 million barrels, much more than analysts expected.
The Commerce Department reported Thursday that construction of new homes and apartments fell 15.5 percent to an annual rate of 550,000 units last month.
Meanwhile, the Labor Department said initial jobless benefit claims rose to a seasonally adjusted 589,000 last week from an upwardly revised figure of 527,000 the previous week.
Light, sweet crude for March Delivery was up 12 cents to settle at 43.67 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after falling as low as 40.41 dollars.
In London, the March Brent contract rose 37 cents to 43.39 dollars a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.