By Konstantin Rozhnov Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES LONDON (Dow Jones)--Crude oil futures were down, but trimmed earlier losses as the euro rebounded from near three-week lows on unconfirmed rumors of a new Greek loan deal. Oil prices had plunged almost 3% in early trade as the dollar strengthened against the euro on worries about the Greek sovereign debt crisis. "Sentiment [is] still sour amid fears for Greece's default and persistently downbeat macro numbers," VTB Capital vice president of commodities research Andrey Kryuchenkov said in a research note. Fresh macroeconomic-data releases from the U.S. later Friday, including the University of Michigan consumer-sentiment survey and leading indicators, could change investors' mood, as worries remain over the sustainability of the economic recovery. At 1030 GMT, the August Brent contract on London's ICE futures exchange was down $1.10, or 1%, at $112.92 a barrel, after falling to a low of $111.05 a barrel. The front-month July contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange was trading down $1.38, or 1.5%, at $93.57 per barrel. The price was up from an earlier low of $92.12 a barrel, which almost broke through a key support level at $92 a barrel. London Capital Group said in a research note that if the price of WTI goes through $92 a barrel, it could go further down to $90 a barrel. Market participants are likely to continue keeping a close watch on developments in Greece, where a new finance minister was appointed Friday in a cabinet reshuffle amid mass protests against austerity measures. Doubts still persist over the ability of euro zone member Greece to avoid default, despite securing short-term funding. Friday's higher than usual trading volumes could also be contributing to the downward pressure on oil prices as investors close out long positions ahead of the weekend, said Torbjorn Kjus, oil market analyst at DnB NOR. In addition to Greece's debt problems, Saudi Arabia's readiness to supply more oil to the market if needed are also pushing oil prices down, SEB said in a research note. "In such a situation the natural choice could be to close risky positions ahead of the weekend," the SEB note added. The ICE's gasoil contract for July delivery was down $8.25, or 0.9%, at $940.50 per metric ton, while Nymex gasoline for July delivery was 265 points, or 0.9%, lower at $2.9229 per gallon. -By Konstantin Rozhnov, Dow Jones Newswires +44 207 842 9004; konstantin.rozhnov@dowjones.com

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