Oil prices rebound ahead of inventory data

Oil prices rebounded on Wednesday but remained about 100 dollars below record highs reached less than five months ago, as the market awaited key energy inventory data from the United States.

On London's InterContinental Exchange (ICE), Brent North Sea crude for delivery in January rose 54 cents to 45.98 dollars a barrel.

Light sweet crude for January rose 41 cents to 47.37 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX).

The market was gearing up for the latest weekly snapshot of energy inventories in the United States, the world's biggest consumer of oil.

Crude futures have plunged since striking record highs of above 147 dollars in July as a global economic slowdown weighs on demand. Prices had shot higher earlier in the year on worries of supply disruptions.