Oil closes lower after briefly surpassing $50 a barrel

Oil surpassed $50 a barrel for first time in seven months on Thursday before pulling back and settling slightly lower for the day.

West Texas Intermediate for July delivery settled at $49.48 a barrel, 0.2% down on the day, after reaching a high of $50.21/bbl.

Prices continue to move in tandem with supply/demand adjustments, with US decreasing inventories helping to ease concerns over a global supply glut.

WTI crude futures are now up by roughly 80% from their level in mid-February when they bottomed out at 13-year lows near $26 a barrel.