Oil prices settles with a gain of nearly 5%

Oil futures settled higher on Wednesday, at their highest level since early December, buoyed by expectations that major producers this month will make a move to stabilize their crude output levels and stem the rise in the glut of oil inventories. U.S. government data showed that crude-oil stockpiles grew by a more-than-expected 3.9 million barrels last week. April West Texas Intermediate crude rose $1.79, or 4.9%, to settle at $38.29 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

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