Brent crude oil fell on Friday, following a two-day, $3 rally, as weak economic data from the United States sounded a note of caution over growth prospects in the world’s largest oil consumer, Reuters report showed.
The report showed that Brent slipped 67 cents to $102.74 a barrel by 11:51 a.m. (1551 GMT), after touching a low of $102.51, while U.S. crude was down $1.17 at $92.47 after going to $92.19 earlier in the day. U.S. crude prices have careened from over $97 in the beginning of April to below $86 by mid-month.
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The oil price is still over 6 percent off levels at the start of April after a string of disappointing reports in recent weeks from the U.S., China and Germany stoked fears of global economic slowdown.
On Friday, the Commerce Department reported U.S. gross domestic product expanded at a 2.5 percent annual rate in the first quarter. This advance read on how the economy kicked off 2013 was slightly worse than the 3.0 percent rate expected, prompting worries about a deceleration in the second quarter and sending U.S. equity markets down.
