Oil prices fell to near $103 a barrel Friday in Asia after economic growth slowed in China, the world's second-largest crude consumer.

Benchmark oil for May delivery was down 49 cents to $103.15 a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 94 cents to settle at $103.64 in New York on Thursday.

Brent crude for May delivery was down 34 cents at $121.18 per barrel in London.

China said Friday its economy grew by 8.1 percent in the three months ending in March, its weakest expansion since the second quarter of 2009. It grew 8.9 percent in the last quarter of 2011.

Developing economies, led by China, have accounted for most of the increase in global crude demand in recent years as the U.S. and Europe struggled with weak economies. China's breakneck economic growth, which averaged about 10 percent a year during the past decade, helped push oil prices up from $10 in 1998.