Oil prices rose slightly Wednesday but remained near three-year lows as investors tried to gauge how much the slowdown in U.S. and Chinese economies will hurt demand for crude, according to The Associated Press.

By midday in Europe, light, sweet crude for January delivery was up 30 cents to $47.26 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The contract fell $2.32 overnight to settle at $46.96 after touching $46.82, the lowest level since May 20, 2005, when it traded at $46.20.