Forexpros – Crude oil futures traded lower for the first time in three days Friday as China’s economy showed signs of slowing and Saudi Arabia’s oil minister vowed to see lower prices.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in May traded at USD103.56 a barrel during early U.S. trade, giving back 0.07%.
China’s gross domestic product expanded just 8.1% from a year earlier in the first quarter, following an 8.9% advance in the last three months of 2011 adding to global growth fears and depressing oil prices.
However, China’s industrial output climbed at a higher pace in March and retail sales increased supporting growth optimism.
The world’s largest oil exporter, Saudi Arabia, considers prices too high and is working on lowering them according to oil minister, Ali al-Naimi.
Pushing oil lower, the U.S. dollar moved higher against the Euro as debt fears worsened due to Spanish bond auctions.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of six other major currencies, was higher by 0.16% to trade at 79.60.
Oil prices typically weaken when the greenback gains strength as the dollar-priced commodity becomes cheaper for holders of other currencies.
Meanwhile, oil traders looked forward to talks scheduled to take place over the weekend in Istanbul, Turkey between Iran and six world powers, surrounding Tehran’s disputed nuclear program.
The six world powers include, the U.S., the U.K., France, Germany, Russia and China.
On Wednesday, Iran’s top nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili said that his country plans to present new proposals at upcoming talks on its controversial nuclear program.
“The Iranian delegation is to take new initiatives in talks and we hope the other side will do the same,” Jalili said.
The stand-off between Iran and Western countries has dominated sentiment in the oil market in recent months, pushing up prices from USD75 a barrel in October to as high as USD110 in early March.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for May delivery dropped 0.11% to trade at USD121.35 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at USD17.79 a barrel.
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