LONDON: Oil prices recovered Thursday as markets tracked the latest diplomacy surrounding Iran and Greece, awaiting more key US data.
US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for August delivery climbed 21 cents to $57.17 a barrel compared with Wednesday's close, ahead of jobs data due Thursday in main crude consumer the United States.
Brent North Sea crude for August gained 57 cents to stand at $62.58 a barrel in London afternoon deals.
World powers negotiating a deal with major oil producer Iran to curb its nuclear ambitions were grappling for a breakthrough as last-ditch talks dragged into a sixth day Thursday.
With the diplomatic drive playing out both in Vienna and Tehran, ministers held a flurry of meetings as the clock ticked down to a new July 7 deadline.
Iran rejects allegations that it has been seeking to develop nuclear arms, and has resisted moves to give the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) unbridled access to sensitive military sites to verify its claims.
Successful outcome of the talks could see the lifting of sanctions that have suffocated the Iranian economy by choking its lifeblood oil exports.
"With the deadline now extended into next week on finding a comprehensive agreement on Tehran's nuclear programme, the markets will monitor closely the outcome of the negotiations as Iran sits on the fourth-largest oil reserves and second-largest gas reserves in the world," said Sanjeev Gupta, energy expert at Ernst and Young.
Oil futures had fallen on Wednesday after the Department of Energy reported an unexpected increase in US stockpiles last week.
Traders are also closely tracking developments in Europe ahead of Sunday's crucial referendum on Greece on whether to accept creditors' bailout reform proposals, with European leaders casting it as a simple in/out vote on Athens' eurozone future.
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