Oil steadied, after the biggest gain in two weeks, as easing US inflation aided broader financial market sentiment.

West Texas Intermediate traded below $68 a barrel after jumping 2.2% on Wednesday, with Brent crude closing near $71. US consumer prices rose at the slowest pace in four months in February, official data showed, although economists anticipate that an escalating trade war will drive up prices on goods like food and clothing in the coming months. 

Crude has tumbled from a high in mid-January, with some of the biggest oil traders getting more bearish on the outlook for prices as supply starts to outstrip demand.

Production from OPEC and its allies surged last month as Kazakhstan further breached its cap, a report from the group's secretariat showed on Wednesday, although the central Asian nation said it has agreed with international oil companies to cut its output.

Source: Bloomberg