Oil rose more than $1 Today as bargain hunters emerged after recent sharp falls due to the coronavirus pandemic and the price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia, but fears of a recession still dragged on the market.

Brent crude LCOc1 was up by 1.8%, or 55 cents, to $30.60 a barrel by 04:10 GMT, after hitting a high of $31.25.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 rose 3.7%, or $1.06, to $29.76, having come off a high of $30.21.

“Presumably, the market is getting supported by physical bargain hunters and short covering,” said Stephen Innes, chief markets strategist at AxiCorp.

The United States claimed it will take advantage of low oil prices to fill its Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), and other countries and companies are planning similar measures to fill storage tanks.

“But those storage facilities are rapidly filling. If storage does fill, quashing that demand, oil prices are sure to collapse further, and the global markets will then have to hope that the dispute between Saudi Arabia and Russia is resolved before we reach that point of no return,” Innes said.