Mexico's government on Thursday slashed its economic growth forecast to between 2.2 to 3.2 percent this year after data showed the economy grew at its slowest pace in over a year undermined by flagging oil revenue and weak U.S. growth.

U.S. oil companies, still smarting from the crude price rout, are attracting a wave of new investment from unlikely sources - hedge funds and private equity firms flocking to the energy market for the first time to bet on a rebound.

The dollar was a contributing factor to oil’s crash between June and January as it rose 16 per cent against a basket of other currencies. However, the 60 per cent decline in crude from about $115 to $45 a barrel over the same period illustrates how crude was largely trading on its own fundamentals, as the US shale boom contributed to oversupply.

More than $100bn of spending on new projects by the world’s energy companies has been slowed, postponed or axed following the oil price plunge, evidence of the drastic industry action that will curb output in coming years.

The rebound in oil prices has wide-reaching implications. For one, it certainly affects the situation in Russia and the Ukraine. As the price of oil stabilizes, the Russian government has become more comfortable with its fiscal situation, despite the fact that low oil prices and Western sanctions have sunk the country into a recession that will likely last through next year.

The cutbacks by energy companies likely contributed to a drop in the production of industrial machinery, which fell 0.9 percent, its second straight decline. The strong dollar also likely held back machinery sales, because it makes goods more expensive overseas. Companies like Caterpillar are exporting fewer trucks, bulldozers and other industrial machines.

Europe’s oil capital is a victim of the sharp drop in oil prices since last year

Venezuela is pushing for a new agreement between OPEC and non-OPEC nations to stabilize oil prices, President Nicolas Maduro said on Friday, in the most serious indication yet of a renewed drive to boost prices back to $100 per barrel.

May 17 State-owned Qatar Petroleum will announce a restructuring plan in the coming months to adapt to the drop in oil prices, the head of its wholly owned international subsidiary said.

As Saudi Arabia pumps more and more crude, creating a glut in global supplies, US producers recently have begun to curtail oil production as prices plummeted. The cost of production for US shale producers is significantly higher than for conventional production in Saudi Arabia and in other OPEC countries, which gives those producers an advantage at a time of sagging oil prices.