Oil futures rebounded Thursday afternoon after The Wall Street Journal reported OPEC members might be ready to cooperate on a cut, citing comments UAE Energy Minister Suhail bin Mohammed al-Mazrouei gave to Sky News Arabia.



U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) last traded at $27.20 a barrel. Earlier in the day, it settled down $1.24, or 4.5 percent, at $26.21 a barrel, after breaking a psychologically key level of $26.19, the lowest since May 8, 2003, when it hit $26.



Brent crude futures were up 17 cents at $31.01 per barrel, having traded between $30.01 and $31.14.



Suhail bin Mohammed al-Mazrouei also said low prices were already forcing non-OPEC members to cap production, but that cuts would require total cooperation from everyone, according to Sky News Arabia's reporting. U.S. stocks bounced sharply after the report.

Prior to the report, U.S. oil prices had fallen for a sixth straight day on Thursday, hitting the lowest since May 2003, weighed by brimming crude inventories and a Goldman Sachs forecast that prices would remain low and volatile until the second half of the year.

Market intelligence firm Genscape reported the Cushing, Oklahoma delivery hub for U.S, crude futures saw a build of almost 425,000 barrels in the week to Feb. 9.

Crude inventories in Cushing hit all-time highs just shy of 65 million barrels during the week ended Feb. 5, government data showed on Wednesday.