Crude oil futures mixed before U.S. inventory report

By Aaron Sheldrick TOKYO (Reuters) - Oil futures rose in Asian trading on Wednesday but gains were limited and U.S. crude traded sideways in advance of the release of official weekly inventory figures later in the day. Brent crude was up 18 cents at $46.84 a barrel at 0349 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 4 cents at $44.69 a barrel, after initially trading higher then falling.