Oil futures slipped in early Asian trade on Friday as OPEC raised production amid an uncertain global economic outlook as Europe struggles to tackle the region's debt crisis.
U.S. crude fell as low as $96.13 a barrel and traded 91 cents down at $96.18 as of 0011 GMT. The contract had risen 27 cents to settle at $97.08, stemming a six-day losing streak that had reduced the front-month June crude's value by 8.8 percent.
Brent crude slipped 78 cents to $111.95 a barrel, after settling 47 cents lower.
A slew of data due on Friday from China, the world's second-largest oil consumer, on inflation, commodity output and industrial production will help pave the market's direction.
FUNDAMENTALS
* OPEC is pumping enough oil to keep world markets more than satisfied and oil prices have been high largely due to geopolitical risk, the oil producing group said. The group said its own production had risen in April to 31.62 million barrels per day (bpd) as Iraq ramped up and Libya's oil industry recovered.
* Greek Socialist leader Evangelos Venizelos meets conservative Antonis Samaras on Friday in a possibly doomed attempt to form a government and avoid a repeat election, while EU leaders are warning that Greece's membership of the euro is at stake.
* U.S. President Barack Obama said on Thursday that Europe was still in a difficult place economically in part because it did not take some of the steps the United States did.
* Banks have become so restrictive in making mortgages that many worthy home buyers are being frozen out of the U.S. housing market, and lending practices are not likely to loosen any time soon, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Thursday.
* The number of Americans submitting new applications for jobless benefits edged down last week, easing concerns the labour market was deteriorating after surprisingly weak employment growth in April.
MARKETS NEWS
* The euro gained against the dollar on Thursday, snapping eight straight sessions of declines and bouncing from its recent 3-1/2-month low, as stress in Spanish debt markets eased andGreece secured funds to repay its bondholders.
* U.S. stock index futures fell sharply on Thursday evening as JPMorgan Chase & Co stunned investors with news that its chief investment office had incurred "significant mark-to-market losses" that it said could "easily get worse."
DATA/EVENTS
* The following data is expected on Friday:
- 0130 China CPI yy Apr
- 0130 China PPI yy Apr
- 0530 China Industrial output yy Apr
- 0530 China Retail sales yy Apr
- 0530 China Urban investment (ytd)yy Apr
- 0800 OECD IEA Oil Market Report Nov
- 1230 U.S. PPI April
- 1355 U.S TR/Univ of Mich consumer sentiment May
- 1930 U.S. CFTC commitment of traders data
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