SINGAPORE: Oil prices were down in Asian trade Tuesday on concerns over a slowdown in China's economy, with the strong US dollar also putting pressure on prices, analysts said.
New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in April fell 22 cents to $91.84 a barrel in afternoon trade and Brent North Sea crude for April delivery was down 38 cents at $109.84.
Analysts said sentiment was dampened by concerns over data signalling a slowdown in China, the world's second biggest economy.
Chinese inflation hit a 10-month high in February while growth in industrial production and retail sales eased, according to official data released on Saturday.
"The data releases over the weekend suggest that China's economic rebound is faltering sooner than even we had expected," research house Capital Economics said in a report.
"Growth in industrial production and retail sales slowed in the first two months of the year... we continue to believe that growth is likely to slow later this year."
China is the world's biggest energy consuming nation.
The higher US dollar also helped push down prices as a stronger greenback makes dollar-priced oil more expensive.
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