Daily Energy & Bullion Insight 12-Jun-2009
Benchmark crude for July delivery fell 62 cents to $72.06 a barrel by late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
An improving crude demand outlook helped bolster prices.
Oil prices slid toward $72 a barrel on Friday, as investors locked in gains from a near eight-month high settlement a day ago, but stronger-than-expected China factory output and retail sales data lent support.
Hopes of an economic recovery had boosted oil to its high on Thursday, and official data showing a rebound in China's industrial growth and retail sales in May added to the positive economic picture.