Oil prices advanced Friday, clawing back some losses from the previous session when crude fell by nearly $1 a barrel on worries a slowing U.S. economy would cut petroleum consumption. Light, sweet crude for September delivery rose 35 cents to $75.30 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, midmorning in Singapore. The contract dropped 93 cents to settle at $74.95 a barrel Thursday as global stock troubles deepened during U.S. equities trading, with Wall Street suffering one of its worst losses of 2007 amid worries about the U.S. mortgage and corporate lending markets. The Dow Jones industrials closed down more than 310 points after earlier skidding nearly 450. Some analysts said the market was concerned that the plunge could have a bearish effect on oil demand. Crude oil futures had earlier in Thursday`s session topped $77 a barrel, spurred on by U.S. government data released Wednesday showing a drop in U.S. crude oil inventories. Traders paid specific attention to a 1.4 million barrel decline in oil inventories in and around Cushing, Okla., the delivery point for Nymex futures contracts. The jump in prices renewed speculation that crude futures would resume their challenge of record highs. Last July, Nymex crude hit an all-time high of $78.40 a barrel. September Brent crude gained 37 cents to $75.55 a barrel on the ICE futures exchange in London. Nymex gasoline futures rose 0.11 cent to $2.077 a gallon while heating oil prices added 0.22 cent to $2.035 a gallon. Natural gas futures rose 1.7 cents to $5.96 per 1,000 cubic feet.