LONDON (AFP) - World oil prices rebounded on Thursday after steep declines overnight on the back of the strong dollar, a mixed US energy stockpiles report and stubborn concerns about China, traders said. New Yorks main futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in March, won 50 cents to 74.17 dollars a barrel. Londons Brent North Sea crude for March delivery added 55 cents to 72.79 dollars per barrel. Crude futures tumbled Wednesday amid mixed official US petroleum stockpile data that stirred concerns about weak demand in the worlds largest economy. Oil also sank on Wednesday as traders took their direction from the stronger greenback, which makes dollar-priced crude more expensive for buyers using weaker currencies, and therefore tends to weigh on demand and prices. The dollar rose against rival currencies after the US Federal Reserve maintained its key interest rate. The decline came amid a strengthening dollar, which rallied to a six-month high against the euro following the Feds decision to keep interest rates in the US close to zero, said analysts at the JBC Energy consultancy in Vienna. Fresh woes for the oil market came from worse-than-expected builds in US product inventories, as well as weak Japanese oil import figures, they added. On Wednesday, New York crude sank 1.04 dollars to finish at 73.67 dollars in New York trade which was the lowest closing level since December 22. Oil continued to trade below the 75-dollar level as markets digested the weekly oil inventory numbers, said ODL Markets analyst Marius Paun. Crude supplies fell by 3.9 million barrels, a higher than anticipated number. Whilst this would generally be expected to push the price higher, there are still consumption concerns following Chinas moves to tighten lending conditions. Investors have been rattled ever since it emerged several weeks ago that China wanted to rein in its booming economy, which up to now has largely led the recovery from the worst global slump since the 1930s. Meanwhile, the US Department of Energy revealed Wednesday that crude oil inventories plunged 3.9 million barrels in the week ended January 22, surprising most analysts who had expected an increase. However, the crude stockpiles were still 5.1 percent below their year-earlier level. Distillates including diesel and heating fuel rose 400,000 barrels last week, instead of the much larger increase expected by the market. Gasoline reserves increased more than anticipated, by two million barrels, and were 6.0 percent higher than a year ago.