Oil declined to near its lowest in six weeks in New York as economic contraction in Europe countered signs of growth in the U.S. and China, the world’s largest consumers of crude. West Texas Intermediate fell as much as 0.7 percent, erasing an earlier gain of 0.5 percent. Euro-region manufacturing declined for an eighth month in March, London- based Markit Economics said today. While China’s Purchasing Managers’ Index yesterday rose to a one-year high of 53.1 in March, analysts described the gain as seasonal and a separate survey showed exporters struggling. “High oil prices, while superficially benefiting producers, may yet be a curse for the economic recovery,� said Christopher Bellew, a senior broker at Jefferies Bache Ltd. in London, who correctly predicted Brent crude’s rise to more than $120 a barrel this year. “It’s far from clear in which direction the market will break out of this range, but right now it looks as if people are betting on a move lower.� Oil for May delivery slipped as much as 72 cents to $102.30 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $102.46 at 12:56 p.m. London time. It dropped to $102.13 on March 29, the lowest since Feb. 16. Prices fell 3.8 percent last month. Brent oil for May settlement fell 65 cents to $122.23 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The European benchmark contract’s premium to New York-traded WTI was at $19.97, having settled at $19.86 on March 30, the most since Oct. 24. Quarterly Advance Futures in New York gained 4.2 percent in the first three months of the year, a second quarterly advance. U.S. payrolls probably increased in March for a fourth consecutive month, economists surveyed by Bloomberg News said before an April 6 report from the Labor Department. Employment rose by 205,000 after climbing by 227,000 in February, the survey shows. The European manufacturing gauge, based on a survey of purchasing managers, fell to 47.7 from 49 in February, remaining below the 50 line that divides expansion from contraction, London-based Markit Economics said today. That’s in line with Markit’s initial estimate. Oil output in March from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries climbed to the highest level in more than three years, led by a Libyan production gain, a Bloomberg News survey showed on March 30. Production increased 110,000 barrels, or 0.4 percent, to an average 31.22 million barrels a day in March from a revised 31.11 million in February, according to the survey of oil companies, producers and analysts. Output increased to the highest level since October 2008. The February total was revised 55,000 barrels a day higher. Iranian production fell to the lowest level in almost 10 years. China Data The Purchasing Managers’ Index rose to 53.1 last month, China’s logistics federation and the National Bureau of Statistics said. The gauge has a pattern of rising each March. In contrast, a PMI from HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics showed manufacturing contracting and export orders falling. Hedge funds and other large speculators decreased bullish oil wagers by 6,460, or 2.6 percent, to 241,367 contracts in the seven days ended March 27, according to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Commitments of Traders report on March 30. In London, money managers boosted bullish bets on Brent crude by 11,305 contracts in the week ended March 27, according to data from ICE Futures Europe. Speculative bets that prices will rise, in futures and options combined, outnumbered short positions by 150,883 lots, the London-based exchange said today in its weekly Commitment of Traders report. To contact the reporter on this story: Grant Smith in London at gsmith52@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Stephen Voss at sev@bloomberg.net

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