Crude oil futures gained on Thursday backed by weaker US dollar which fell in reaction to comments of US Federal Reserve indicating chances of further monetary easing. Crude oil futures contract for June delivery gained 0.4 percent or $0.43 to settle at $104.55 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil has kept itself above $100 per barrel since December in reaction to supply concerns from Middle East and sluggish consumption outlook.

According to analysts commodities prices were appreciated in reaction to bullish stock markets and increased appetite for riskier investments. The US dollar also remained lower further supporting the commodities as the dollar index DXY which tracks the greenback’s movement against the basked of six major counterparts fell to 78.919 on Thursday as compared to 79.072 on Wednesday’s North American trading session.

Among other energy commodities, gasoline futures contract for May delivery gained 0.9 percent or $0.03 to settle at $3.18 per gallon while heating oil futures for the same month surged 1.1 percent or $0.03 to $3.19 per gallon.

Natural gas futures contract for May delivery fell 1.6 percent or $0.03 to $2.04 per million British thermal units. EIA also released its report on natural gas supplies on Thursday according to which natural gas supplies increased by 47 billion cubic feet for the week as compared to analysts expected gain of 43 to 47 billion cubic feet for the week.