Oil price rebounds to above $53 a barrel

Oil rebounded back above $53 a barrel on Thursday, after falling more than a dollar in the previous session on bearish US oil inventory numbers, as investors focused on hopes of an early return to economic growth.

Asian stocks rose to their highest in 11 weeks on Thursday, bolstered by strong US new home sales and durable goods data out on Wednesday. 

But US government figures showed crude stocks had risen to their highest levels since July 1993, indicating continued weak demand in the world's largest oil consumer.