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By Bloomberg

Crude oil rose for a fifth day after Iran called on OPEC to tackle the global glut by cutting output. The dollar held declines, while futures on Asian stock indexes were mixed before data on Chinese economic growth.

West Texas Intermediate crude added 0.4 percent to $53.50 a barrel by 7:53 a.m. in Tokyo. Japanese equity futures fell as the yen held near a one-week high, while contracts on an index of Chinese stocks in Hong Kong rose 0.3 percent in most recent trading. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures were little changed after energy shares drove the gauge up 0.2 percent in New York. Australian bonds followed U.S. Treasuries higher.

Iran became the second Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries member this month to suggest reducing the group’s production target, with Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh on Tuesday urging a cut of at least 5 percent. China is projected to report the slowest growth since the global recession for last quarter, fueling speculation over stimulus. U.S. retail sales rebounded less than economists forecast in March.

“The supply demand balance in general is becoming tighter than people had expected maybe back in December and January,” said Paul Crovo, a Philadelphia-based oil analyst at PNC Capital Advisors LLC. “Things are starting to become somewhat positive.”

WTI has gained 6.2 percent the past five days, after sliding 4.3 percent in March. Industry data released after the close of Tuesday trading in the U.S. was said to indicate the rate of inventory increases had eased, with the government to report on supplies Wednesday after saying earlier in the week that the shale boom is ending.

Japan Futures

Futures on Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average slipped 0.4 percent to 19,840 by 3 a.m. in Osaka, while yen-denominated contracts traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange slipped 0.1 percent to 19,915 in early Wednesday trading.

The yen was steady at 119.39 per dollar after climbing 0.6 percent Tuesday as the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index slid 0.7 percent. Lackluster U.S. retail sales data bolstered speculation the Federal Reserve won’t rush to raise interest rates. The euro was little changed at $1.0651 following a 0.8 percent jump Tuesday, its first increase in seven days.

Yields on Australian government debt due in a decade fell for a third day, declining three basis points, or 0.03 percentage point, to 2.28 percent. The move followed a three basis-point drop in similar maturity Treasury rates, to 1.90 percent after another report showed wholesale prices in the U.S. climbed for the first time in five months.

Hong Kong

Futures on Hong Kong’s Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, which tracks mainland Chinese shares listed in the city, rose to 14,273 after the index halted an eight-day rally on Tuesday, dropping 2.2 percent from the highest level since May 2008. Demand from mainland investors via an exchange link had made Hong Kong shares among the best-performing globally over the past month.

Chinese expansion probably slowed to 7 percent in the first quarter, the slowest rate since the first three months of 2009, according to economists surveyed before the data. Reports on retail sales and industrial output in Asia’s largest economy are also due Wednesday.

The MSCI Emerging Markets Index lost 0.5 percent Tuesday, halting its longest rally in 10 years. Indonesia reports on trade Wednesday, Singapore posts retail sales and Japan also updates factory production, with central bank chief Haruhiko Kuroda to speak. Thailand remains closed for a holiday.

Intel Corp. climbed more than 2 percent in extended U.S. trading after reporting earnings. The world’s largest computer chipmaker posted steady first-quarter sales and an increase in net income. Revenue in the second three months will be $13.2 billion, plus or minus $500 million, compared with an average analyst estimate of $13.45 billion, the company said.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. advanced 1.6 percent in ordinary trading after the biggest U.S. bank said profit rose 12 percent to top estimates. Wells Fargo & Co. slipped 0.7 percent as its lending margin slid below 3 percent for the first time since the 1990s.