NEW YORK, April 21 (Xinhua) -- Oil prices climbed on Thursday as market participants weighed risks both on the supply and the demand sides.

       The West Texas Intermediate for June delivery added 1.6 U.S. dollars, or nearly 1.6 percent, to settle at 103.79 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for June delivery increased 1.53 dollars, or 1.4 percent, to close at 108.33 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.

       "The oil market continues to be characterised by a tug-of-war between concerns about demand and concerns about supply outages," Carsten Fritsch, an energy analyst at Commerzbank Research, said in a note on Thursday.

       The ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict coupled with the supply outages in Libya deepened market fears over tight supplies.

       A hefty drop in U.S. crude stockpiles also contributed to prices. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, U.S. crude oil stocks fell by an unexpectedly sharp 8 million barrels last week.

       Meanwhile, demand concerns were at play, especially after the International Monetary Fund on Tuesday slashed global growth forecast for 2022 to 3.6 percent, 0.8 percentage points lower than the January projection.