WTI and Brent Crude Post Slight Gains on Thursday

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Oil futures showed a slight increase on Thursday despite weeklong trading volatility and economic data suggesting a possible decline in energy demand, according to Bloomberg MarketWatch.

October West Texas Intermediate crude rose 33 cents, or 0.8%, to end trading at $43.91 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

November Brent crude, the global benchmark, added 74 cents, or 1.6%, to settle at $46.59 a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.

Data on U.S. industrial production for August revealed a decline of 0.4%, after a revised 0.6% rise in July. Weak economic data suggests the possibility for a decline in demand for energy.

In the natural gas market, prices climbed as a weekly report showed that U.S. supplies of the commodity rose in line with market expectations.

The EIA said Thursday that natural gas supplies rose 62 billion cubic feet for the week ending September 9. Analysts polled by S&P Global Platts forecast an increase of 59 billion to 63 billion cubic feet.

Meanwhile, October natural gas rose 3.8 cents, or 1.3%, to end trading at $2.927 per million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange.