On Thursday, oil rolled back to below $83 a barrel after hitting a 15 month high during the previous day's trading session, as figures revealing a surprise build in American crude stocks managed to outweigh expectations for a strong and robust heating fuel demand during the current cold spell.

On Wednesday, crude managed to post its 10th consecutive day of gains, as the dollar weakened in value, and forecasts pegged that all throughout the next week, the demand for fuel would rise due to freezing temperatures across the US.

But so far, any recovery or rise in demand in the world's biggest energy user seems to be patchy. On Wednesday, data released by the US Energy Information Administration revealed an unexpected 1.3 million barrel hike in crude oil stockpiles over the past week, while stockpiles of distillates, including heating oil, managed to slip by a smaller-than-expected 300,000 barrels.

"On the charts, oil looks quite bullish -- the next target appears to be $89-$90 -- and it has got a lot to do with the cold weather, which is set to continue for a while", said Michelle Kwek, analyst at Informa Global Markets in Singapore.

US crude for February had declined by 41 cents to $82.77 a barrel, after gaining $1.41 a day earlier at $83.18.