Oil prices kept to a tight range on Thursday, nursing two days of steep losses as middling demand cues from China and hawkish signals on U.S. interest rates brewed increasing concerns over more headwinds to crude consumption this year.

Chinese consumer inflation missed expectations in February as spending still remained constrained despite the lifting of anti-COVID measures, while factory gate prices shrank more than expected as disruptions in the manufacturing sector persisted.

Most Asian stocks edged lower on Thursday as weaker-than-expected Chinese inflation data pointed to a sluggish economic recovery in the country, while fears of a more hawkish Federal Reserve continued to chip away at sentiment.

China’s trade surplus grew sharply in February, data showed on Tuesday, driven largely by a smaller-than-expected decline in exports as manufacturing activity recovered on fewer COVID-19 disruptions, although the country’s imports also shrank far more than expected. 

A fall in China's exports for the January-February period pointed to continued weakness in demand for the country's products, backing government concerns that a global slowdown will be felt at home.

Britain's labour market showed further signs of cooling as permanent job placements fell for the fifth month in a row in February and pay growth slowed, reflecting employers' concerns about the economy, a survey published on Wednesday showed.