Investing.com - Oil prices traded slightly lower on Friday in Asia.
U.S. Crude Oil WTI Futures slipped 0.1% to $$52.47 by 12:18 AM ET (04:15 GMT). International Brent Oil Futures dropped 0.2% to $57.27.
Citing a Saudi oil official, Reuters reported today that Saudi Arabia is planning to maintain its crude oil exports below 7 million barrels per day in August and September.
The news followed a Bloomberg report yesterday that said the kingdom would not tolerate the steep slide in oil prices and was open to all options to halt further declines.
Upbeat Chinese data were also cited as tailwind for the oil markets, which jumped 2% in the previous session before giving back some of their gains today.
Custom data showed on Thursday that China's dollar-denominated exports gained 3.3% from a year ago. That compares with an expected fall of 2.0%.
Imports during the month fell 5.6%, less than the forecasted 8.3% decline.