2019.03.0715:06:00UTC+00Oil Futures Settle Higher

Crude oil futures ended higher on Thursday, driven by supply cuts from OPEC and its allies, and on U.S. sanctions against Venezuela and Iran.

However, fears of a likely drop in energy demand due to global economic slowdown, uncertainty about U.S.-China trade deal and rising crude inventories in the U.S. limited oil's gains.

West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April ended up $0.44, or 0.8%, at $56.66 a barrel.

On Wednesday, crude futures for April ended down $0.34, or 0.6%, at $56.22 a barrel.

OPEC and its partners have been cutting output by around 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) since the start of the year, a strategy aimed at rebalancing the market as quickly as possible.

The U.S. sanctions on Iran and Venezuela coupled with unrest in Libya that had prompted the closure of El Sharara, are also giving additional tailwind to prices.

Venezuela's state-run oil firm PDVSA this week declared a maritime emergency after Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM) disclosed plans to return 10 tankers over unpaid fees.

Data released by the Energy Information Administration on Wednesday showed crude stockpiles in the U.S. were up by 7.07 million barrels in the week to March 1. That was up almost six times the expected increase.

The Organization for Economic Co-Operation & Development (OECD) has cut forecasts for the global economy in 2019 and 2020, warning that trade disputes and uncertainty over Brexit would hit world commerce and businesses.

The European Central Bank today slashed its economic growth forecast, citing lingering, mainly external uncertainties.

The central bank cut eurozone growth outlook for this year to 1.1% from 1.7%, and the outlook for next year to 1.6% from 1.7%.

The risks surrounding the euro area growth outlook are still tilted to the downside, on account of the persistence of uncertainties related to geopolitical factors, the threat of protectionism and vulnerabilities in emerging markets, the ECB said.

"While there are signs that some of the idiosyncratic domestic factors dampening growth are starting to fade, the weakening in economic data points to a sizeable moderation in the pace of the economic expansion that will extend into the current year," said ECB President Mario Draghi.