MW:Oil futures ease slightly in Asian trading hours
By Chris Oliver
HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Benchmark Nymex crude-oil futures slipped slightly in Friday afternoon trade in East Asia, easing below the $94-a-barrel level, though action was largely flat in the wake of hefty North American gains that sent the front-month contract to a three-month high. The December contract CL1Z +0.12% edged down to $93.86 a barrel, easing 0.2% from its U.S. settlement. In Thursday's regular session, the contract settled 1.7% higher at $94.07 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, helped by a surprise European Central Bank interest-rate cut and Greece abandoning a plan to hold a public vote on its latest bailout plan.
