New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in June added five cents to $96.67 a barrel and Brent North Sea crude for June delivery gained 18 cents to $104.52.
"Dealers are cheering German industrial production figures that were significantly better than expected," Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney, told.
"What we're seeing is an improved outlook for European and global growth."
The upbeat German factory output numbers came a day after China said it recorded an $18.2 billion surplus in April, stoking hopes of improving demand in the world's second biggest economy.
German industrial output saw a surprisingly robust rise in March driven by a sharp increase in the energy sector, official data showed Wednesday.
Industrial production rose by 1.2 percent in March compared with the previous month, beating analysts' expectations of a 0.2 percent decline.
