REUTERS
Crude oil futures fell on Friday with losses this month standing at over 8%, hurt by disappointing Chinese economic data and worries over a supply glut, according to Reuters.
A firmer U.S. dollar also weighed on oil, making greenback-denominated contracts more expensive for holders of other currencies, although trading was quiet after Thanksgiving Day in the United States, Reuters reported.
Brent crude had dropped 7 cents to $45.39 per barrel by 05:19 GMT, after settling down 71 cents at $45.46 in the previous session.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures, the U.S. crude benchmark, fell 52 cents, or 1.21%, to $42.52 per barrel. They are up 5.3% so far this week, but have plunged 8.7% since the beginning of the month.
Profits earned by Chinese industrial companies fell 4.6% in October from a year earlier, data from the country's statistics bureau showed on Friday, declining for the fifth consecutive month.
Read alsoOil prices rise after Saudi Arabia makes market stability pledgeANZ said in a note on Friday that "U.S. stocks data did little to excite the market," as U.S. crude inventories rose 1 million barrels last week, slightly below analyst expectations.
The market is shifting its focus to a meeting of OPEC ministers, which is set for Vienna on December 4.
Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Thursday that Russia and Saudi Arabia would set up a special joint working group on oil and gas cooperation to promote energy dialogue between the world's top oil producers.
Both Brent and U.S. crude have gained compared with last week's closes due to geopolitical risks in the Middle East after Turkey's shooting down of Russian warplane.
Read alsoMedvedev orders to develop retaliatory measures against TurkeyRussia threatened economic retaliation against Turkey on Thursday and said it was still awaiting a reasonable explanation, but Turkey dismissed the threats as "emotional" and "unfitting".
But some said Middle East geopolitical risk was unlikely to push oil prices higher.
"The well supplied crude market, record high inventories in OECD and lack of material threat to oil facilities in the Middle East from the military escalation against IS in Syria are going to prevent geopolitical premiums building in oil prices," BMI said in a note.