REUTERS, London

Oil prices rose on Thursday, supported by signals from the US Federal Reserve on a possible start to rate cuts and on new support measures for China’s embattled property market.

Brent crude futures climbed 58 cents to $81.13 a barrel and US West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained 59 cents to $76.44 at 0919 GMT, after falling by more than $2 a barrel in the previous session.

Those moves are likely supported by expectations for rate cuts this year after a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday, CMC Markets analyst Tina Teng said.

Powell said that interest rates had peaked and would move lower in coming months, with inflation continuing to fall and an expectation of sustained job and economic growth.

Lower interest rates and economic growth help oil demand. But, Powell declined to promise that rate cuts would come as soon as the Fed’s March 19-20 meeting, as investors had hoped.