The price of oil fell below $102 on Monday after a surprise drop in China's exports and weaker economic growth in Japan suggested demand for crude could weaken.

Benchmark U.S. crude for April delivery was down $1.18 to $101.40 per barrel at 0810 GMT in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Friday, the contract rose $1.02 to close at $102.58 after strong U.S. employment figures for February. Brent crude, used to set prices for international varieties of crude, was down 90 cents to $108.11.

The French economy is expected to grow by 0.2 percent in the first quarter, the country's central bank said Monday, confirming a preliminary forecast issued a month ago.

The bank makes its forecasts based on a monthly survey of a panel of private sector executives, who have reported that business confidence remained largely unchanged in February.

Japan's economy grew at a slower pace than initially thought in the last quarter of 2013, revised data showed Monday, underscoring concerns about the pace of recovery under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's policy blitz.

The fresh figures will turn the focus on to Bank of Japan policymakers as they start a two-day meeting, with speculation they could unveil further monetary easing measures to counter a possible slowdown from a sales tax rise next month.

As world powers and international institutions cobble together aid packages for a debt-laden Ukraine on the brink of default, regular Ukrainians feeling the pinch fear they will see none of the cash.

At an outdoor market north of Kiev's city center on Friday, stallholders sold everything from colorful stuffed toys to freshly baked pastries and bouquets of flowers for International Women's Day.

Visa and MasterCard are forming a group that's intended to help the retail and banking industries come together on more-secure credit card payments.

Credit card breaches at Neiman Marcus, Target and other retailers have put a spotlight on the weak spots in the security of credit card payments.

China recorded an unexpected trade deficit of $22.98 billion in February, official figures showed Saturday, with authorities blaming the country's holiday season for the weak performance.

The figure compared with a surplus of $14.8 billion in the same month last year, and a median forecast of an $11.9 billion surplus in a poll of 13 economists by Dow Jones Newswires.

Panama's president told Venezuela on Friday that its decision to break off diplomatic ties should not be an excuse to renege on its massive debt to the Central American nation.

President Ricardo Martinelli's warning came a day after Venezuela ordered the expulsion of Panama's ambassador and three other diplomats in a worsening dispute stemming from protests against the Caracas government.

Russian energy giant Gazprom on Friday warned Ukraine it could cut off gas exports if the new authorities in Kiev did not pay a bill for debt that now stands at $1.89 billion.

"Ukraine has de facto stopped paying for gas... We cannot deliver gas for free. Either Ukraine pays the debt and pays for current supplies or the risk appears of a return to the situation at the start of 2009," said Gazprom chief executive Alexei Miller, quoted by Russian news agencies.

Spring appears to be arriving early for the German economy as industrial production picked up speed in January, official data showed on Friday.

Industrial output expanded by 0.8 percent in January, after inching up by 0.1 percent in December, the economy ministry calculated in preliminary data.

China's commerce minister on Friday warned industries and companies not to over-expand, after the collapse last year of a key unit of the world's biggest solar firm.

The country's decades-long boom has turned it into the world's second-largest economy and a key driver of global growth, but at the same time major internal imbalances have developed.