European stocks close: stocks closed higher on rising oil prices

Stock indices closed higher as oil prices rebounded. Oil prices rose on the U.S. crude oil inventories data. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration on Wednesday, U.S. crude inventories rose by 2.08 million barrels to 538.6 million in the week to April 15. Analysts had expected U.S. crude oil inventories to rise by 2.5 million barrels.

Market participants also eyed the economic data from the Germany. Destatis released its producer price index (PPI) for Germany on Wednesday. German PPI producer prices were flat in March, missing expectations for a 0.2% rise, after a 0.5% drop in February.

On a yearly basis, German PPI dropped 3.1% in March, missing expectations for a 2.9% decrease, after a 3.0% fall in February. It was the biggest drop since January 2010.

PPI excluding energy sector fell by 0.9% year-on-year in March. Energy prices were down 9.2% year-on-year in March.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) released its labour market data on Wednesday. The U.K. unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5.1% in the December to February quarter, in line with expectations.

The claimant count rose by 6,700 people in March, missing expectations for a fall by 11,300, after a decrease of 9,300 people in February. February's figure was revised down from a 18,000 decrease.

U.K. unemployment in the November to January period increased by 21,000 to 1.7 million from the previous quarter. It was the first rise since the May-July quarter of 2015.

The employment rate remained unchanged at 74.1% in the December to February quarter. It was the highest reading since 1971.

Average weekly earnings, excluding bonuses, climbed by 2.2% in the December to February quarter, after a 2.2% gain in the November to January quarter.

Average weekly earnings, including bonuses, rose by 1.8% in the December to February quarter, in missing expectations for a 2.3% gain, after a 2.1% increase in the November to January quarter.

Indexes on the close:

Name Price Change Change %

FTSE 100 6,410.26 +4.91 +0.08 %

DAX 10,421.29 +71.70 +0.69 %

CAC 40 4,591.92 +25.44 +0.56 %