By Christopher Johnson
LONDON (Reuters) - Oil stabilised on Wednesday after one of its biggest falls in years, but remained under pressure from oversupply and concern that a slowing global economy would depress demand.
Benchmark Brent crude oil was up 75 cents at $57.01 a barrel by 1445 GMT, after dropping 5.6 percent on Tuesday and at one point hitting a 14-month low.
U.S. light crude was 76 cents higher at $47.00, after plunging 7.3 percent in the previous session when it touched its lowest since August 2017.
Both benchmarks have fallen more than 30 percent since the beginning of October as crude supply from the Middle East, Russia and the United States has outstripped demand.
"Despite this morning's cooling off, the price risks remain firmly skewed to the downside," Stephen Brennock, analyst at London brokerage PVM Oil, said.
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Tuesday's sell-off was encouraged by a sharp fall in world stock markets after signs that economic growth, and hence demand for energy, was slowing. There were also worries that higher U.S. interest rates could slow U.S. growth.
The U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates on Wednesday. The central bank is due to announce its decision at 2 p.m. EST (1900 GMT).
Adding to worries about oversupply, the American Petroleum Institute said on Tuesday U.S. crude stocks rose unexpectedly last week, while gasoline inventories increased. [API]
If the build in U.S. crude stockpiles is confirmed by U.S. government data on Wednesday, it will be the first increase in three weeks. [EIA/S]
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other oil producers including Russia agreed this month to curb output by 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) equivalent to more than 1 percent of global demand, in an attempt to drain tanks and boost prices.
But the cuts will not happen until next month and production has been at or near record highs in the United States, Russia and Saudi Arabia.
Russian oil output has been running at a record 11.42 million bpd so far this month, an industry source told Reuters.
The U.S. government has said shale production should climb to over 8 million bpd for the first time by the end of December.
Saudi Arabia's energy minister, Khalid al-Falih, said on Wednesday he expected global oil stocks to fall by the end of the first quarter.
"We remain focused on fundamentals. I can tell you we will achieve balance between supply and demand in 2019," Falih told reporters.
(Reporting by Christopher Johnson in London and Meng Meng and Aizhu Chen in Singapore; editing by Edmund Blair, Jason Neely and Alexander Smith)