Saudi Arabia will act to bring down oil prices, Saudi oil minister Ali Naimi said in the Financial Times newspaper on Thursday as concern grows that rising energy prices are hurting the world economy.

Saudi Arabia "would like to see a fair and reasonable price that will not hurt the global economic recovery, especially in emerging and developing countries", the minister wrote in a column.

Natural gas, whose price is at record lows thanks to a shale drilling boom, is gaining traction as an alternative energy in the United States, with automakers jumping on the bandwagon.

The use of natural gas instead of oil-based gasoline to drive the country's cars and trucks "is definitely starting to take off," said Mark Hanson, an analyst at investment research firm Morningstar.

Oil prices retreated Wednesday as France said it was ready to tap strategic crude reserves and as investors awaited the latest weekly snapshot of U.S. energy inventories.

New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate crude for delivery in May, shed 98 cents to $106.35 a barrel.

European stocks fell on Wednesday due to concerns over the growth outlook for China and the Eurozone, and after official data showed the British economy shrank more than previously thought.

London's FTSE 100 index of top shares slid 0.28 percent to 5,852.84 points in morning deals and Frankfurt's DAX 30 shed 0.40 percent to 7,050.87 points.

Eurozone banks appear reluctant to lend out to the private sector the vast amounts of cheap cash they recently borrowed from the European Central Bank, data showed on Wednesday.

The ECB calculated in regular monthly data that growth in loans to the private sector slowed to just 0.7 percent in February from 1.1 percent the previous month.

World oil prices crept higher on Tuesday, as dealers awaited key economic data in top crude consumer the United States, and eyed the weak dollar and new supply tensions in Sudan.

In late morning deals in London, Brent North Sea crude for delivery in May added just two cents to $125.67 a barrel.

Russia is enjoying a period of solid growth but must tackle several challenges to overcome its dependence on oil exports and improve long-term output, the World Bank said on Tuesday.

Just over one month before Vladimir Putin returns to the Kremlin for a new six year term where he has promised to implement genuine economic reform, the Bank said Russia's economy was still suffering from weaknesses.

Japanese high-tech firm Hitachi on Tuesday said it plans to slash its annual costs 5.0 percent by 2015, or about $5.43 billion a year, to compete with rivals including General Electric.

The announcement by Hitachi, whose products range from microchips to railways, comes after the company said last month that its nine-month net profit dived more than 61.0 percent year-on-year, amid a strong yen and weaker demand from Europe and China.

Iraq's Kurdistan region threatened on Monday to stop oil exports, and argued the central government did not have the right to sign a deal with British firm BP to develop a giant oilfield in disputed land.

The moves were the latest in a long-running dispute over energy contracts and revenues between Baghdad and the autonomous region, with the two sides squabbling over payments, revenue-sharing and Baghdad's refusal to recognize dozens of contracts Kurdish officials have signed with foreign energy firms.

Under the patronage of the President of the Republic of Lebanon, Michel Suleiman, represented by the Minister of Telecommunications, Nicolas Sehnaoui, and with the participation of H.E. Riad Salameh, Governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon, the third annual ArabNet Digital Summit is set to open on Thursday, March 29th at the Grand Habtoor Hotel, Beirut. The Summit is the largest gathering of entrepreneurs and digital professionals in the web and mobile industries in the Arab region and is expected to attract 1,500 attendees for five action packed days of innovation, entrepreneurialism and best practice sharing between regional and global leaders.

In collaboration with the Central Bank of Lebanon and strategic partnerships with Bank Audi, STC, and MBC Group—the summit will feature discussions and lectures involving 150 internationally renowned speakers covering the latest trends and topics in the industry, particularly in relation to the opportunities and challenges created in various industries by the digital revolution. This will include the future of news, television, advertising and digital marketing, as well as mobile applications, online gaming, e-commerce, and other important fields.