According to a Rigzone report on April 24, oil prices gradually regained their lost ground after a dramatic week of falling below zero for the first time in history as the market’s attention turned to production cuts in response to a sharp drop in demand.

Crude oil futures for June delivery in New York rose for a fourth straight session, approaching $17 a barrel. Crude oil futures for May fell to as low as -$40.32 a barrel on Monday. U.S. oil operators have begun shutting old wells and halting new drilling, a move that could reduce output by 20 percent, while Kuwait and Algeria said the cuts would come sooner than those stipulated in the OPEC+ deal.

A massive oversupply crisis won’t be resolved anytime soon, though, meaning there are still risks of further losses for West Texas Intermediate and global benchmark Brent crude. Refiners are looking for ships to store gasoline and jet fuel, while a U.S. pipeline operator is looking for ways to free up pipeline space to store more crude, showing the magnitude of the supply imbalance.

With still no clear indication of when demand will recover, the market will face a prolonged downturn that will take several years for the industry to recover. The World Bank said the slump in oil prices would be followed by the weakest recovery in history, while consultancy Rystad Energy cut demand forecasts for the fourth time since early March.

Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist for Asia Pacific at CMC Markets, said: "We do see a more stable environment given the tighter trading range. The start of production cuts is "very constructive" and WTI prices appear to be averaging in the short term Around $15 to $20 a barrel.”

WTI crude futures for June delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 2.6% to $16.93 a barrel as of 7:29 a.m. in London. Contract prices fell 32% this week. The premium between December crude futures and June crude futures narrowed to around $12 a barrel from above $15 earlier in the week, a sign that oversupply concerns are easing slightly.

Brent for June delivery on the European Futures Exchange rose 1.4% to $21.63 a barrel after rising 4.7% on Thursday.