Oil rose again on Thursday after strong earnings from Meta and Microsoft supported US equities and offset concerns about the US economy and the prospect of higher OPEC+ oil output.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 47 cents, or 0.8%, to $58.68 a barrel by 1442 GMT. Brent crude futures rose 71 cents, or 1.2%, to $61.77. Both contracts had fallen more than 1% earlier.

"It (oil price gains) can be attributed to the surge in equities due to the attractive earnings from Microsoft (MSFT.O), opens new tab and Meta (META.O), opens new tab and possibly the postponement of the next round of US-Iran nuclear negotiations," said Tamas Varga of oil broker PVM.

Oman said on Thursday that the next round of US-Iran nuclear talks tentatively planned for Saturday, May 3, would be rescheduled for logistical reasons.

Earlier, concerns about higher supply weighed on prices. Saudi Arabia told allies and industry experts that it was unwilling to prop up the oil market with supply cuts and could manage a prolonged period of low prices, sources told Reuters.

Some OPEC+ members will suggest the group accelerate output increases in June for a second straight month, three people familiar with the OPEC+ talks said. The eight OPEC+ nations will meet on May 5 to decide on June output plans.

Meanwhile, the U.S. economy contracted for the first time in three years in the first quarter, data showed on Wednesday, swamped by a flood of imports as businesses scrambled to avoid higher costs from tariffs and underscoring the disruptive impact of President Donald Trump's unpredictable trade policies.

Trump's tariffs have made it more likely the global economy will slip into recession this year, a Reuters poll suggests. (Newsmaker23)

Source: Reuters