16.08.201906:24:00UTC+00Oil Prices Jump As Recession Worries Ebb

Oil prices rose nearly 2 percent on Friday as recession fears receded and expectations grew of further stimulus by central banks.

Benchmark Brent crude jumped as much as 1.7 percent to $59.23 a barrel, after declining 2.1 percent on Thursday and 3 percent the previous day.

U.S. crude futures were up 1.8 percent at $55.43 a barrel, after having dropped 1.4 percent on Thursday and 3.3 percent the previous day.

U.S. retail sales jumped by the most in four months in July, a report showed overnight in a reassuring sign for the world's largest economy.

Retail sales rose a healthy 0.7 percent last month after a 0.3 percent gain in June as consumers spent more at retail stores and restaurants.

Meanwhile, a day after ECB's Rehn flagged the need for a significant easing package in September to support the flagging euro zone economy, China's state planner said it would roll out a plan to boost disposable income this year and in 2020.

As global growth falters amid simmering U.S.-China trade war, there is now talk of aggressive stimulus from all the major central banks.