Oil prices edged back towards $48 per barrel this morning, recovering slightly from a fall yesterday to levels more than $100 below a record high hit in July.

The price of a barrel of US light crude for delivery next month increased to $48.10, up from $46.96 yesterday.

On Tuesday, the price fell below $47 per barrel for the first time since May 2005, marking a drop of more than $100 from an all-time high of $147.27 set on July 11 this year.

Crude prices have been hammered lower by concerns over weakening demand as the global economy shudders to a halt. A decision by Opec last weekend not to trim production but to wait until another meeting on December 17 in Algeria has also added to the sense that the oil market remains oversupplied.

Meanwhile, fresh figures out later today are expected to confirm the slump in US demand for oil.

US weekly data on crude stocks, to be published this afternoon, are expected to point to a 1.7 million barrel increase for the week ended November 28 — the third consecutive weekly rise.

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