European stock indices rose on Thursday, capping a tumultuous month as investors keep a close eye on developments in the Ukraine-Russia conflict as well as volatile energy prices.

By 03:40 am ET (07:40 GMT), Germany’s DAX index was trading 0.5% higher, France’s CAC 40 was up 0.3% and Britain’s FTSE 100 was up 0.2%.

The lack of a significant breakthrough in talks between Ukraine and Russia led to market weakness in Europe on Wednesday.

The tone has since improved, with Ukrainian negotiator David Arahamiya saying on Thursday that Russian and Ukrainian officials intend to resume talks via videoconference on Friday.

He added that he hoped enough agreements on paper would be reached within the next week to allow a meeting between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Vladimir Zelensky to proceed.

European indices had a very difficult quarter, with the DAX down more than 8% YTD and the CAC 40 and broad-based Stoxx 600 down nearly 6% as the special operation in Ukraine pressured commodity prices and heightened fears of stagflation.

Some of those fears diminished Thursday after oil prices fell following reports that the U.S. is considering a massive release of crude from its emergency reserves over the next several months to bring down prices, which have climbed above $100 a barrel since Russia’s special operation in Ukraine began.

News reports say the Biden administration could make an announcement a little later Thursday, with the total amount released from the country’s strategic oil reserves potentially as high as 180 million barrels.

The International Energy Agency is also calling an emergency ministerial meeting on Friday amid speculation that the Paris-based organization will try to coordinate a global oil release by other countries.

The news overshadowed a meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies, the group known as OPEC+, scheduled for later today that is expected to stick to an existing agreement to increase oil production by about 400,000 bpd through May.

By 03:40 a.m. ET (08:40 GMT), U.S. WTI crude futures were trading 4.4% lower at $103.06 a barrel, while the Brent contract fell 3.5% to $107.53.

Note that UK fourth-quarter GDP grew 1.3% quarter-on-quarter, 6.6% more than expected, while German retail sales in February rose 0.3% from the previous month.

Consumer prices in France rose 4.5% in March from a year earlier, the highest since data began being released in 1997. This sets the stage for Friday’s release of the Eurozone Consumer Price Index (CPI), which is expected to rise to 6.6%, adding pressure on the European Central Bank.

In terms of corporate news, BAYER AG (DE:BAYGN) shares rose 0.7% after the German drugmaker said it will invest about 2 billion euros ($2.23 billion) over the next 3 years, mainly to support the production of biotech drugs and cell and gene therapies.

Air France KLM (OTC:AFLYY) shares rose 1.2% after the French-Dutch airline extended CEO Ben Smith’s term for another 5 years, giving it stability during a difficult period for the industry.

Additionally, gold futures fell 0.3% to $1928 per ounce, while EUR/USD rose 0.1% to 1.1161.