PARIS  Crude oil climbed above $72 a barrel on Thursday as the International Energy Agency revised upward its forecast for global oil demand on signs that the downturn in the world economy was flattening out.

The agency, based in Paris, now estimates global demand will be 83.3 million barrels a day this year, up 120,000 barrels a day from its previous forecast.

The new forecast still represents a decline of 2.9 percent from the 2008 level, the agency said, cautioning that the revisions “do not necessarily imply economic recovery, but may reflect a slowing in previously sharp decline.”

Crude oil futures settled at $72.68 a barrel in New York trading. The price of oil has more than doubled since sliding below $35 in February, in part because of Chinese stockpiling that began in April.