Oil prices rise amid tight supplies

Oil prices climbed on Thursday, boosted by supply tightness.

The West Texas Intermediate for May delivery rose 1.4 U.S. dollars, or 1.92 percent, to settle at 74.37 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for May delivery increased 99 cents, or 1.26 percent, to close at 79.27 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.

The above market reactions came as market participants "stay focused on supply worries," Vladimir Zernov, analyst with market information supplier FX Empire, said on Thursday.

"Traders should note that Russia has cut production by 500,000 bpd in March, so the oil market is getting tighter, which is bullish for oil prices," he said.

In addition, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported Wednesday that the country's commercial crude oil inventories decreased by 7.5 million barrels during the week ending March 24. That was the largest weekly fall for the year to date.

The EIA report also showed a fall of 2.9 million barrels in U.S. motor gasoline inventories and a climb of 0.3 million barrels in distillate fuel stocks.