Crude prices rebounded on Thursday after a big sell-off at previous trading session as U.S. initial jobless claims last week dipped to new four-year low.

A large scale of sell-off was triggered on Wednesday after U.S. crude inventories hit 9-month high, offsetting worries about Iran' s possible supplies disruption. Crude contracts both in New York and London tumbled over 2 percent.

On Thursday, there was a technical rebound request, especially after the U.S. Labor Department said that U.S. initial jobless claims slipped further by 6,000 in the week ended March 31, to a new four-year low. The continuing improvement of U.S. job market lifted market sentiment.

But the factors that weighed in crude markets lingered. The Spanish debt worries, looming European economic outlook and few hopes for QE3 kept posing pressure on oil prices. And western countries could release strategic oil reserves in near term to curb the high fuel costs. The dollar tended to rise in view of no further money printing in the United States and easing policy in Europe.

The global oil market would be closed on Friday for the Good Friday holiday.

Light, sweet crude for May delivery rose 1.84 dollars, or 1.81 percent to settle at 103.31 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. For the week, it edged up 29 cents, or 0.28 percent. In London, Brent crude for May delivery rose 1.09 dollars, or 0.89 percent to close at 123.43 dollars a barrel. For the week, it added 55 cents, or 0.45 percent.