Oil prices rose in Asia on Wednesday after fears for economic growth sent prices into their steepest fall in 17 years during New York trading, analysts said. New York's main oil contract, light sweet crude for August delivery, was 22 cents higher at 138.96 dollars a barrel. The contract sank 6.44 dollars to close at 138.74 dollars a barrel on Tuesday at the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was the sharpest single-session decline since January 1991.