LONDON (AFP) --
Oil futures rebounded slightly on Wednesday from recent losses, ahead of the latest update on energy inventories in key consuming nation the United States, analysts said.
Brent North Sea crude for delivery in January rose 75 cents to 75.94 dollars a barrel in morning London trade.
New York's main futures contract, light sweet crude for January delivery, jumped 1.03 dollars to 73.65 dollars a barrel.
"Today, the market will be paying close attention to weekly US fuel inventories," said VTB Capital analyst Andrey Kryuchenkov.
"We expect refining rates to edge higher, though robust imports will still see a small increase in crude stockpiles. Distillates are likely to see a small contraction this time around," he added.
The US government's Energy Information Administration (EIA) will later publish its weekly snapshot of crude stockpiles for the week ending December 4.
Crude reserves are expected to increase by 600,000 barrels according to analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires.
Gasoline or petrol inventories are forecast to gain 1.5 million barrels, while distillates including heating fuel are seen falling by 500,000 barrels.
On Tuesday, New York oil prices sank for the fifth straight session, in a market focused on a stronger dollar, soft US energy demand and deepening market concerns about soaring government debt in Dubai and Greece.
New York crude oil had tumbled 1.31 dollars, taking combined losses over the past five sessions to almost six dollars per barrel.
"Crude oil price finished lower for a fifth straight day on Tuesday, following a stronger US dollar and amid concerns for the pace of the global economic recovery," said Sucden analysts in a note to clients.
The price of oil and other dollar-denominated commodities had gained support for several months from a weakening dollar as investors sought a hedge against inflation.
But the greenback has strengthened sharply against the euro since Friday, with the single European currency falling below 1.47 dollars Tuesday for the first time in more than a month.
Traders were "buying on weakness" of crude prices as oil markets were hit by a stronger greenback in overnight trade, said Ben Westmore, minerals and energy economist at the National Australia Bank in Melbourne.
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia also said that energy markets were affected by "concerns about subdued US oil demand."
On Tuesday, the EIA cut its 2010 outlook for global demand for the first time in three months, with revised expectations of a 1.1 million barrel per day rise "slightly lower" than projections made last month, according to the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
For the United States, the world's largest energy consumer, the EIA saw an increase of 270,000 barrels a day, slightly less than last month's projection.
