VIENNA — Benchmark oil prices languished around $35 a barrel today as further signs the U.S. recession is deepening spurred market concerns over crude demand.

Investors appeared doubtful that a $787 billion stimulus bill, signed Tuesday by President Barack Obama, will be enough to jolt the U.S. out of its worst recession in decades.

Light, sweet crude for March delivery rose 9 cents to $35.02 a barrel by noon on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract on Tuesday fell $2.58 to $34.93.

OPEC has tried to bolster prices by cutting supplies, and the group's leaders have said they may slash output again at a meeting next month. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries has announced 4.2 million barrels a day of productions cuts since September.

In other Nymex trading, gasoline futures were up slightly at $1.12 a gallon. Heating oil gained over a penny to $1.20 a gallon, while natural gas for March delivery slid more than 4 cents to $4.16 per 1,000 cubic feet.