Saudi Arabia's deputy crown prince Mohammed bin Salman said in an interview with Bloomberg that the country would only freeze its oil output if Iran and other major oil producers will participate in such deal.
Bloomberg reported on Wednesday that Iran would likely participate in the meeting between OPEC and non-OPEC countries in Doha on April 17. OPEC and non-OPEC countries plan to discuss the freeze of the oil output.
Iran said last month that it was not ready to freeze its oil production until output of 4.0 million barrels a day was reached.
The U.S. Labor Department released the labour market data on Friday. The U.S. economy added 215,000 jobs in March, exceeding expectations for a rise of 205,000 jobs, after a gain of 245,000 jobs in February. February's figure was revised up from a rise of 242,000 jobs.
The increase was driven by rises in retail trade, construction, and health care.
The retail trade added 47,700 jobs in March, while the manufacturing sector shed 29,000 jobs.
Construction added 37,000 in March, while mining sector shed 12,400 jobs.
The U.S. unemployment rate rose to 5.0% in March from 4.9% in February. Analysts had expected the unemployment rate to remain unchanged at 4.9%.
Average hourly earnings increased 0.3% in March, beating forecasts of a 0.2% gain, after a 0.1% decline in February.
The labour-force participation rate increased to 63.0% in March from 62.9% in February.
As the U.S. labour market continues to strengthen, the Fed could raise its interest rate gradually this year.
According to a Reuters survey, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries' (OPEC) oil production rose in March due to an increase in supply from Iran and Iraq. OPEC's oil output increased to 32.47 million barrels per day (bpd) in March from 32.37 million in February.
Saudi Arabia produced 10.18 million bpd in March, down from 10.20 million bpd in February.
Iran increased its oil production by 230,000 bpd since December 2015.
Oil production declined in Nigeria, Libya and United Arab Emirates, while exports from Angola rose.
The Chinese manufacturing PMI rose to 50.2 in March from 49.0 in February, according to the Chinese government. February's reading was the lowest reading since November 2011.
Analysts had expected the index to increase to 49.3.
A reading above the 50 mark indicates expansion, a reading below 50 indicates contraction.
The increase was driven by rises in output and new orders, while employment fell.
The services PMI increased to 53.8 in March from 52.7 in February.
The Chinese Markit/Caixin manufacturing PMI increased to 49.7 in March from 48.0 in February. The increase was driven by rises output, total new orders and output prices. But companies continued to shed jobs.
"All categories of the index showed improvement over the previous month. The output and new order categories rose above the neutral 50-point level, indicating that the stimulus policies the government has implemented have begun to take hold," Dr. He Fan, Chief Economist at Caixin Insight Group, said.
"However, considering that current conditions remain uncertain, the government needs to continue with moderate stimulus measures to reinforce market confidence," he added.
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