* Caution ahead of oil producers' meeting caps stocks
* China economy grows 6.7 pct in Q1 as expected
* Shares steady after 2.5 pct weekly rise, at 2016 highs
* Oil dips ahead of Doha meet after 11 pct April jump
(Updates with U.S. markets, changes dateline from previous
LONDON)
By Rodrigo Campos
NEW YORK, April 15 (Reuters) - Crude oil prices fell on
Friday ahead of a weekend meeting that could yield an output
freeze by major producers, while the U.S. dollar and major stock
markets edged lower but were set to post weekly gains.
Indexes were little changed on Wall Street for a second day,
with the S&P 500 set to close its seventh positive week in the
last nine.
The U.S. dollar index fell as traders cashed in after three
days of gains and was weighed further by data showing U.S.
industrial production fell more than expected in March, the
latest indication that economic growth braked sharply in the
first quarter.
Both the MSCI index of stocks across the globe
.MIWD00000PUS and the S&P 500 .SPX hit their highest points
of the year this week and emerging market stocks .MSCIEF
racked up their best weekly gain in a month. European shares
.FTEU3 fell 0.4 percent but were on track to post their
largest weekly gain in two months.
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI fell 5.51 points, or
0.03 percent, to 17,920.92, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 1.06 points,
or 0.05 percent, to 2,081.72 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC
added 1.89 points, or 0.04 percent, to 4,947.77.
Japan's Nikkei .N225 , one of the biggest losers of 2016 so
far, closed 6.5 percent higher for the week following the drop
back in the yen.
China's economy grew 6.7 percent in the first quarter from a
year earlier, meeting expectations and providing additional
evidence that a slowdown in the world's second largest economy
may be bottoming out.
The dollar index .DXY slipped 0.2 percent after the U.S.
currency gained more than 1 percent against both the yen JPY=
and the euro EUR= this week.
Speculation was still widespread about whether top oil
producers led by Saudi Arabia and Russia will be able to reach a
deal in Qatar on Sunday to curb output.
"Momentum is building behind an agreement that likely
excludes Iran (and potentially Libya). While there will likely
be little effect on the physical market an agreement would
represent an important psychological shift in setting oil
prices," investment bank Jefferies said on Friday.
Brent crude futures LCOc1 were down 3 percent at $42.54
and U.S. crude futures CLc1 were down 3.1 percent, trading at
$40.22.
Safe-haven gold XAU= was on course for a weekly loss, the
first in three.
U.S. Treasury yields fell after the weaker-than-expected
reading on industrial output.
Benchmark 10-year Treasury note US10YT=RR rose 7/32 in
price to yield 1.757 percent, from 1.781 percent late Thursday.