Oil mixed in Asian trade amid worries over global economy

SINGAPORE: Oil was mixed in Asian trade Friday on growing worries about the potential economic fallout from the Greek debt crisis, analysts said.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for June delivery dropped four cents to 77.07 dollars a barrel.

Brent North Sea crude for June delivery rose 18 cents to 80.01 dollars a barrel.

Worries that the Greek debt crisis may spread to other vulnerable eurozone economies and affect the global economy continued to dampen investor sentiment, analysts said.

"Concerns about the fiscal position of a number of European countries, and possible contagion effects, continue to fuel concerns about the international economic outlook," analysts from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia said.

"Oil markets have become less confident about the international economic outlook," they wrote in a commentary.

The stronger US currency was also weighing on appetite for dollar-denominated crude futures as risk-averse investors on Friday continued to dump the European currency in favour of the dollar.

Traditionally, the dollar is seen as a safe haven during financial turmoil.

In Asian trade, the under-pressure euro remained near 14-month lows but picked up slightly to 1.2669 dollars from 1.2644 in New York late Thursday.

A stronger US unit makes dollar-denominated oil more expensive for holders of rival currencies, such as the euro. .