Oil rises to near $102 in Europe after sell-off

By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark oil for May delivery was up 48 cents to $101.95 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $2.54 to settle at $101.47 per barrel in New York on Wednesday.

In London, Brent crude for May delivery was up 34 cents at $122.68 per barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

On Wednesday, the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration said crude inventories surged last week by 9 million barrels, or 2.5 percent, to their highest level since June. The supply jump was the largest on record for that week of the year, energy trader and consultant The Schork Group said in a report.

"The report strikes us as bearish for crude in the short term," Schork said. "Is the $100 mark next?"

Crude had mostly traded between $104 and $109 since February until this week, when investors eyed minutes from the Fed's last meeting in March that suggested the economy is gradually improving enough so a third round of Treasury purchases, known as quantitative easing, could be unnecessary.