US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for delivery in April rose 66 cents to US$38.50 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London Brent North Sea crude for May delivery the European benchmark rose to US$40.39 a barrel up 34 cents from Thursday's settlement.

'The market is gravitating to the idea we're going to see some tightening of the supply and demand fundamentals' said Gene McGillian of Tradition Energy.

The notion which emerged last month amid discussions about freezing output led by Saudi Arabia and Russia picked up steam from the IEA's new market report on Friday. After a 20-month rout that has shaved prices more than 60 per cent since mid-2014 a tentative recovery is underway it suggested.

'International crude oil prices have recovered remarkably in recent weeks' the IEA noted in report. 'This should not however be taken as a definitive sign that the worst is necessarily over. Even so there are signs that prices might have bottomed out'.

The IEA said the Saudi-Russian effort to gather producers behind an output freeze a 'first stab at co-ordinated action that is intended to stabilise prices' with the presumed aim of pushing oil up to US$50 a barrel.

But the IEA predicted there was a long way to go before oil supply and demand find a real balance probably in 2017. Bob Yawger of Mizuho Securities USA highlighted the lift from the European Central Bank's decision Thursday to unleash further stimulus for the ailing eurozone economy.

'Free money is always positive for commodities' he said. Still analysts sounded notes of caution because of the persistence of the global glut.