Oil futures advanced in early trading after the International Energy Agency (IEA) said a fall in oil demand due to higher prices will not offset a shut-in of Russian oil supplies. Brent crude futures were up about 66 cents, or 0.67 per cent, to $98.68 a barrel at 12:22 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 84 cents, or 0.86 per cent, to $95.86 per barrel.

Both contracts had settled down after an unexpected jump in US crude stockpiles and signs of progress in Russia-Ukraine peace talks. US crude had settled down 1.08 per cent at $95.04 a barrel, while Brent settled down 1.9 per cent at $98.02 a barrel. Oil inventories in the United States rose by 4.3 million barrels in the week to March 11 to 415.9 million barrels, according to the US Energy Information Administration, surpassing a decline of 1.4 million barrels.