LONDON (AFP) — World oil prices marched upwards on Thursday, winning support from a global equities rally ahead a vital report on crude reserves in the United States, the number one energy consuming nation, dealers said.

Brent North Sea crude for delivery in March added one dollar to 46.02 dollars a barrel on London's InterContinental Exchange.

New York's main futures contract, light sweet crude for March, gained 98 cents to 44.53 dollars a barrel.

World stock markets rose Thursday, boosted by strong US company results and an overnight Wall Street rally, offsetting news that Belgian regional authorities had bailed out struggling bank KBC, analysts said.

The US government releases its latest weekly energy report on Thursday, one day later than usual because of Monday's public holiday in the United States.

Oil prices had jumped higher Wednesday on hopes that new US President Barack Obama would help pull America out of recession, lifting flagging demand for energy.

"Crude oil gained more then six percent yesterday (Wednesday) on speculation a bank-rescue plan by the new US president will help boost economic growth and increase fuel demand," said BetOnMarkets analyst Dave Evans.

Turning to the upcoming US inventory report, he warned that prices could soften again.

"Prices could fall on speculation that the US crude oil inventories rose last week," Evans noted.

The market meanwhile also won some support from recent OPEC production cuts, whose impact is starting to filter through to the marketplace, analysts said.

"Oil markets are continuing to balance concerns about weakness in oil consumption against the impacts of OPEC's production cuts," said David Moore, a Sydney-based commodity strategist with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

Crude futures have plummeted by about 100 dollars since striking record peaks last July because of a worsening global economic slowdown that has dented demand.

Traders set aside news of shrinking economic growth in China, which is the second-biggest energy consuming nation.

China's economy slowed dramatically at the end of 2008 as the full force of the global crisis hit home, dragging growth to a seven-year low, official data showed Thursday.

The world's third-largest economy expanded by 6.8 percent in the final quarter, pulling the full-year growth figure down to 9.0 percent, the National Bureau of Statistics said.

Coming after 13.0 percent growth in 2007, the figures offered the most complete picture yet of just how severely the world crisis has hit China's export-dependent economy.