Oil prices rose for the first time in eight sessions, supported by Chinese data which showed a marked improvement in trade flows, while a private survey released by the Petroleum Institute showed a drop of 3.9 million barrels in crude inventories to a total of 480.071 million. Forecasters expected a rise of 2.5 million barrels.

Brent crude futures  gained 66 cents, or 2.13% to $31.50 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediary (WTI) crude futures climbed 84 cents, or 2.78% to $31.23, after breaching the $30 barrier yesterday to record their lowest level in 12 years.

European shares rallied for the second day, with commodity companies leading the way. The pan-European FTSEurofirst index jumped 1.40% to 1,367. Germany's DAX underperformed, advancing 1.09% to 10,099. France's CAC added 60 points, or 1.46% to 4,442. Britain's FTSE climbed 70 points, or 1.23%, moving barely above the 6,000 mark.

 Euro slipped 0.20% against a basket of its peers after data showed industrial production falling by 0.7% m/m in November, much worse than the 0.2% drop expected, and following a 0.8% growth in October. Euro lost 0.30% against the dollar to 1.0827, while edging down 0.10% against sterling to 0.7512.

Copper prices rose following the positive China data, with the futures scaling up 0.43% to $1.968 a pound. Silver jumped 21 cents, or 1.56% to $13.95 an ounce. Gold fell however for the fourth session, giving up three dollars, or 0.27% to $1,082 an ounce.