Steady improvements in the U.S. economy and economic assurances offered Thursday by the Russian president helped right the ship for crude oil markets.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in his annual address the Russian economy would recover within the next two years, along with the rest of the global economy.

"Exit from the current economic situation in Russia is inevitable," he said.

Crude oil prices and sanctions imposed on the Russian energy sector have put extraordinary pressure on the country's economy. Action from Russia's Central Bank, however, erased the free fall in the value of the Russian currency.

That brought relief to global markets, with the Nikkei closing the trading day Thursday up more than 2 percent. Shares in Russian oil company Rosneft, meanwhile, soared more than 21 percent on the back of Putin's speech.

With the January contract expired, prices for Brent, the global oil index, rose more than 2 percent from the previous session to trade at $62.62 for February delivery. Brent prices had dipped below the $60 per barrel mark for the first time since 2009 on concerns about the health of the global economy.

U.S. labor numbers, meanwhile, continued to add confidence to a market still exuberant after Wednesday's banner day on Wall Street.

West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, trading still under the January contract, was up 2.1 percent from Wednesday's close to trade at $57.67 per barrel.

That came despite word that markets still favored the supply side, at least in North America. In a weekly petroleum status report, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said U.S. oil production increased modestly to 9.13 million barrels per day on average for the week ending Dec. 12.

Optimism may be brief, however, as Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi told the official Saudi Press Agency the kingdom, seen as the kingpin among members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, was standing pat on its production agenda.

"In a situation like this, it is difficult, if not impossible, that the kingdom or OPEC would carry out any action that may result in a reduction of its share in market," he said.

OPEC's late November decision to keep production levels in place despite market conditions sparked a precipitous decline in global crude oil prices.