Oil continues to rise and is traded around the $ s73

U.S. crude l-type WTI traded to $ 72.50 in early trading session. Its value registered a rise of 5% so far this week

Oil prices ranging around $ 72.50 a barrel Thursday after jumping more than 5 percent this week, due to which large U.S. inventories of distillates such as diesel offset the positive outlook in other markets.

U.S. crude fell 14 cents to $ 72.37 a barrel, after starting the week to below $ 70 a barrel.

London Brent futures fell 13 cents to $ 71.54 a barrel.

European stock markets climbed in early trading and the benchmark FTSEurofirst 300 is held above his mark of 1,000 points, while gold touched an 18-month, adding to signs that investors are willing to take more risks.

But analysts said the weak bases neutralize these potentially positive news, because high inventories of distillates could limit any gains during the period of maximum heating demand.

Data from the Energy Information Administration showed U.S. distillates rose 2.2 million barrels last week, exceeding by far the increase expected by analysts of 1.3 million barrels.

And while crude oil inventories fell more than expected last week, analysts said this was due to higher refinery utilization rates rather than a genuine increase in demand.

"Currently we see no physical tightness and even an imminent appearance of a deficit supply / demand to help the market to rise," said Citi analyst Timothy Evans in a research note.