Oil dipped below $95 per barrel Friday after China reported that manufacturing rose at the slowest pace in over two years in June, pointing to a possible slowdown in energy demand.

By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark crude for August delivery was down 69 cents to $94.73 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after rising $4.16 over the previous two days. On Thursday, the contract settled at $95.42 a barrel.

Trading could be volatile ahead of a long weekend in the U.S., where markets will be closed on Monday for the 4th of July holiday.  Read more