Oil struggles to stay in positive territory

LONDON, Feb 28 (Reuters): Oil prices struggled to stay in positive territory on Wednesday after data showed industrial activity in some of the world's major crude-consuming nations has softened.

May Brent crude futures LCOv1 were up 5.0 cents at $66.57 a barrel by 1005 GMT, while the front-month April contract LCOc1, which expires on Wednesday, was also up 5 cents at $66.68 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 was down 5.0 cents at $62.96 a barrel.

Traders said oil prices declined on concerns of a slowdown in the global economy after three out of the world's top consumers of crude - China, India and Japan - reported a slowdown in monthly factory activity.

China, the world's largest importer of oil, reported on Wednesday that growth in factory activity in February was at its lowest since July 2016. While China's week-long Lunar New Year holiday this month disrupted business activity, traders also pointed to tougher pollution rules that curtailed factory output.

In Japan, the world's third-largest economy, industrial output in January took its biggest tumble since a devastating earthquake in March 2011, highlighting a weakening in demand and a build up of inventory.

Growth in India's factory activity slowed as well to a four-month low in February as new orders eased and weighed on output, after manufacturers raised prices at the fastest pace in a year, a business survey showed on Wednesday.