Oil prices climbed on Thursday as traders weighed the prospect of a European Union (EU) ban on imports of Russian oil.

    The West Texas Intermediate for May delivery added 2.70 U.S. dollars, or 2.6 percent, to settle at 106.95 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for June delivery increased 2.92 dollars, or 2.7 percent, to close at 111.70 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.

    The New York Times reported Thursday that EU officials were drafting a phased import ban on Russian oil products.

    The EU has imposed several rounds of sanctions on Russia, but so far, Russian oil has been excluded from the sanctions given the high level of dependency that some EU member states have on the country's energy supplies.

    Market participants also assessed the risks on the demand side.

    In their respective monthly reports released earlier this week, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and the International Energy Agency both downwardly revised their forecasts for global oil demand this year.