Oil prices have climbed more than 1 per cent on Thursday due to a threatened strike in Nigeria and as traders cover shorts after sharp losses the previous day brought on by an unexpectedly large rise in US stocks of refined fuels.

Oil prices have climbed more than 1 per cent on Thursday due to a threatened strike in Nigeria and as traders cover shorts after sharp losses the previous day brought on by an unexpectedly large rise in US stocks of refined fuels.