SINGAPORE (AP) – Oil prices fell below $51 a barrel Friday in Asia as investors clung to a month-long trading range amid uncertainty about when the global economy may emerge from a severe recession.

Benchmark crude for June delivery was down 58 cents to $50.54 a barrel by afternoon in Singapore, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract Thursday gained 15 cents to settle at $51.12.

Trading volume was light in Asia as markets in mainland China, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, South Korea, Thailand and Singapore were closed for holidays.

Oil has traded near $50 a barrel for the past month as investor optimism about an eventual economic recovery offsets bleak news suggesting U.S. consumer demand remains weak.

Traders this month will be looking for signs from OPEC about a possible production cut. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which next meets May 28, has announced output quota reductions of 4.2 million barrels a day since September.