By Alex Lawler LONDON (Reuters) - Oil rose above $47 a barrel on Wednesday, climbing from a 3 1/2-year low, after a U.S. government report showed a surprise decline in crude inventories in the world's top consumer. U.S. crude stocks fell by 400,000 barrels, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said, in contrast to analyst expectations of an increase. Refined product stocks also posted unexpected declines. "Considering the pummeling the complex has received lately, any potentially bullish surprise should provide support if not a significant bounce," said Jay Levine, a broker at Enerjay LLC in Portland, Maine. U.S. crude rose 96 cents to $47.92 a barrel by 10:55 a.m. EST. It earlier fell as low as $46.26, the lowest since May 2005. Brent crude gained 80 cents to $46.24. The EIA report also showed fuel consumption continues to contract. Total product demand in the past four weeks averaged 19.27 million bpd, down 6.2 percent from a year ago. Oil has fallen from July's record high of $147.27, pressured by the gloomy economic outlook and, this week, by OPEC's move to postpone a decision on whether to cut supplies until a December 17 meeting. Indications that supplies appear to be falling more slowly than expected have also weighed on prices this week. OPEC oil supply fell in November for a third consecutive month as members began to implement a deal to cut supplies in a move to halt the slide in oil prices, a Reuters survey showed on Tuesday. But the survey suggested the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries met only 66 percent of a pledge to lower output by 1.5 million barrels per day in November, less than analysts expected. "We suspect that prices could move even lower from here, at least through to OPEC's next meeting," Edward Meir, analyst at MF Global, said in a report. "Many producers are simply not moving fast enough to rein in output." (Additional reporting by Maryelle Demongeot in Singapore; Editing by James Jukwey)

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