By Gurdeep Singh Crude-oil futures rose in Asia Friday, moving into positive territory in afternoon trade after China reported second-quarter economic growth in line with expectations, easing concerns about a sharper slowdown and raising hopes that Beijing may take steps to stimulate its economy. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in August traded at $86.17 a barrel at 0647 GMT, up $0.09 in the Globex electronic session. August Brent crude on London's ICE Futures exchange rose $0.31 to $101.38 a barrel. Gains in crude oil were muted after China reported growth that was the slowest since the first quarter of 2009 and slower than the first quarter's 8.1% rise. Crude-oil prices, which had been under pressure because of a stronger U.S. dollar and bearish global economic cues, rose slightly overnight after the U.S. announced additional sanctions targeting Iran's ability to export crude oil. But China's economic data, which offered mixed cues, is likely to dictate trading the rest of the day. "It's hard to decide how to react to the GDP data," Market Strategy Institute analyst Koichiro Kamei said. A slowdown in China is bearish for oil. China has been a cornerstone for growth in global oil demand over the past three years as major developed economies have struggled. But weaker Chinese data also fuel hopes that Beijing will take steps to stimulate its economy, which would be bullish for oil. China's oil data for June reflected a slowing economy. Crude-oil imports fell to the lowest in seven months, while its refinery run rates fell 0.6% from the same month a year earlier to the lowest level in 12 months. Industrial production growth weakened, rising 9.5% from a year earlier in June, down from 9.6% in May and below the median 9.8% gain forecast by 15 economists in an earlier poll. Nymex reformulated gasoline blendstock for August--the benchmark gasoline contract--rose 33 points to $2.8095 a gallon, while August heating oil traded at $2.7772, 39 points higher. ICE gasoil for August changed hands at $878.25 a metric ton, up $12.25 from Thursday's settlement. Write to Gurdeep Singh at gurdeep.singh@dowjones.com

Source