UPDATE 8-Oil prices surge on last day of roller-coaster month

* In April, Brent rises 11%, WTI drops 8% in fourth monthly
loss
* Norway to lower crude output for first time in 18 years
* Shell cuts dividend for first time since World War II
* Nine companies agree to rent space in U.S. emergency oil
reserve
* Rate of change in global energy demand: https://tmsnrt.rs/3aRs40O

(Adds settlement prices, quote)
By Scott DiSavino
NEW YORK, April 30 (Reuters) - Oil prices jumped on
Thursday, after several producers said they would cut output and
as signs the U.S. crude glut was not growing as quickly as many
had feared brought an upbeat close to one of the most volatile
months for oil trading in history.
Fuel demand worldwide slumped about 30% in April. Even after
major oil producers led by Saudi Arabia agreed to slash
production by nearly 10 million barrels per day (bpd), U.S.
crude futures closed on April 20 at a record low in negative
territory.
That collapse in U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures
made traders frantic to avoid taking delivery as the May
front-month contract expired, forcing traders to pay $37.63 a
barrel at settlement to get rid of their contracts.
Prices have recovered somewhat but remain down over 60%
since the start of the year.
On its last day as the front-month, Brent LCOc1 futures
for June delivery rose $2.73, or 12%, to settle at $25.27 a
barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1
for June rose $3.78, or 25%, to settle at $18.84.
That was the highest close for Brent since April 20 and WTI
since April 16.
Brent, the international benchmark, gained about 11% in
April after falling more than 65% over the prior three months.
WTI, meanwhile, fell for a fourth month in a row, dropping over
70% during that time, including an 8% loss in April.
The more actively traded Brent futures for July LCOc2 ,
which will soon be the front-month, gained about 9% to settle at
$26.48 a barrel.
Volume in WTI futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange
hit around 36 million contracts in April, which Refinitiv data
puts as second only to the previous month's 40.9 million record.
"Oil prices are looking very constructive because over the
next month or two, supply will meet demand," said Edward Moya,
senior market analyst at OANDA in New York, noting oversupply
worries are slowly easing with a steady stream of headlines of
crude production cuts.
Western Europe's largest oil producer, Norway, said it would
lower output from June to December, cutting production for the
first time in 18 years as it joined other major producers'
efforts to support prices and curb oversupply. Royal Dutch Shell Plc RDSa.L , meanwhile, announced its
first dividend cut since World War Two. U.S. oil and gas company ConocoPhillips COP.N said it
would sharply reduce oil production in coming weeks, aiming to
shut in 35% of its total output by June. Russian gas producer Novatek PAO NVTK.MM said it plans to
cut capital expenditure by a fifth this year, mainly for
developing its oil projects, a company manager said on Thursday.
U.S. crude inventories grew by 9 million barrels last week
to 527.6 million barrels, Energy Information Administration
data showed, below the 10.6 million-barrel rise analysts had
expected in a Reuters poll. EIA/S
Storage concerns, however, continue to weigh with the
International Energy Agency saying global capacity could peak by
mid-June. U.S. President Donald Trump said his administration would
soon release a plan to help U.S. oil companies. Nine companies including Chevron Corp CVX.N and Exxon
Mobil Corp XOM.N have agreed to rent space to store 23 million
barrels of crude in the U.S. emergency oil reserve. <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Rate of change in global primary oil demand IMAGE https://tmsnrt.rs/3aRs40O
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
(Additional by Noah Browning in London, Sonali Paul in
Melbourne and Koustav Samanta in Singapore; Editing by
Marguerita Choy and David Gregorio)