Crude-oil futures fell in Asian trading hours Monday on weak Chinese trade data and a drop in the country’s oil imports in February. On the New York Mercantile Exchange light, sweet crude futures for delivery in April traded at $102.34 a barrel at 0537 GMT–down $0.24 in the Globex electronic session. April Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange fell $0.56 to $108.44 a barrel. China’s exports contracted unexpectedly by 18.1% on year in February after 10.6% growth in January–although some market participants attributed this to the Lunar New Year holidays. China’s total oil and oil product imports also fell in February by 13% on month to 6.03 million barrels a day but was 7% higher on year. While crude-oil imports eased after hitting records in January oil-product imports posted a much sharper drop on softer demand. Crude-oil imports in China, the world’s second-largest oil consumer, are supported by […]