Over on the Nikkei stocks remained flat with Australia, the Hang Send and the Kospi in Korea down slightly. Rates in Australia were held steady by the central bank there, as many were expecting. Much of the negativity stemmed from a return of falling oil prices to the scene despite a story making the rounds Saudi Arabia is ready to "manage"" the supply of oil with a little help from its friend if everybody goes along.
Reuters reported: U.S. crude oil was down about 1.8 percent at $31.06 a barrel after skidding as much as 7 percent overnight, pressured by weak economic data from China, a U.S. forecast for mild weather and doubts that suppliers would be able to agree on steps to address the global supply glut. Despite the declines, U.S. crude is still nearly 19 percent above the more than 12-year low of $26.19 hit in mid-January.
"(Prices) have just come back to reality a bit, although they are holding water above $30 a barrel," said Ben Le Brun, market analyst at Sydney's OptionsXpress, pointing to concern over rising oil supplies and weaker economic data.
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