Crude oil prices rose slightly on Thursday in cautious trading as the market awaited crucial data on US economic growth for the third quarter, analysts said.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for December delivery added 12 cents to 77.58 dollars a barrel.

Brent North Sea crude for December delivery rose 14 cents to 76.00 dollars a barrel in morning deals.

Investors will later digest the latest gross domestic product (GDP) figures for the United States, which is the world's biggest energy consuming nation.

"Oil prices will depend on the US GDP data in the near term," said Victor Shum, energy analyst at Purvin & Gertz in Singapore, cited by Dow Jones Newswires.

Analysts are expecting the US economy to record a 3.2-percent expansion for the July-September period, which will be the first growth for the world's largest economy after a year of quarterly contractions.

The US government's Commerce Department is due to report the initial GDP estimate at 8:30 am (1230 GMT) on Thursday.

Oil prices had slumped Wednesday after fresh data showed rising US crude and gasoline stockpiles in an indication of falling demand. A rising dollar also dampened sentiment.

New York crude dived 2.09 dollars and London Brent sank 2.06 dollars in Wednesday trade.

The market fell after the US Department of Energy said American gasoline reserves rose by 1.7 million barrels in the week ending October 23.

That indicated weakening energy demand and surprised traders because market expectations had been for a drop of 1.2 million barrels.

Stockpiles of distillates, which include diesel and heating oil, slumped 2.1 million barrels, which was heavier than analysts' consensus forecasts.

The department added that crude reserves climbed by 800,000 barrels, which undershot expectations of a 1.4-million-barrel gain.

Adding to recovery concerns were government data on Wednesday showing a drop in US new home sales in September after five consecutive months of rises, a day after a surprise drop in a key consumer confidence index.