U.S. stock futures fell Friday as crude-oil prices climbed before a weekend summit in Saudi Arabia and a possible strike in Nigeria. Investors will also be waiting for the Supreme Court of Canada to issue its ruling on the fate of a $52 billion takeover of BCE Inc.

The decision is due to be released after stock markets close at 16:30 ET.

Oil futures rose Friday, gaining US$2.06 a barrel to US$134.66 ahead of this weekend’s meeting in Saudi Arabia between oil producers and consumers. Crude-oil futures fell nearly US$5 a barrel Thursday

Here at home, Statistics Canada said retail sales rebounded in April with a 0.6% increase to an estimated $35.6 billion. This sales gain followed a pause in March that could largely be attributed to adverse weather conditions.

April marked the fifth monthly increase in retail sales in seven months.

Separately, StatsCan said Canada’s net international investment position improved in the first quarter of 2008, reflecting both a pickup in Canadian direct investment abroad as well as the effect of a depreciating domestic currency on Canadian holdings of foreign securities.

Canada’s international assets increased to $1,280.9 billion, up $96.5 billion from the end of 2007. On the other side of the ledger, foreign holdings of Canadian liabilities rose more moderately by $56.7 billion to $1,366.1 billion.

The Canadian dollar opened at US98.71¢, up 0.21 cent, after Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney emphasized the need to control inflation in the face of soaring commodity prices.

“We are experiencing a commodity super-cycle,” Carney said in Calgary Thursday evening. “In the face of one of the largest commodity-price shocks in our lifetimes, we cannot be complacent.”

In other news, on Thursday evening Moody’s Investors Service announced downgrades to the two biggest bond insurers, MBIA Inc. and Ambac Financial Group Inc.

Overseas, Asian markets ended mostly lower. The Japanese Nikkei 225 index lost 188.09 points or 1.3% to end the week at 13,942.08.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index slipped 0.2%, losing early gains on profit-taking.

In Europe, shares were mostly lower, as pressure from banks and miners outweighed gains by oil-related stocks.

London’s FTSE 100 declined 1.1% while the German DAX lost 1.4% and the Paris CAC-40 receded 1%.

On Thursday, Toronto stocks tumbled almost 2% as a sharp drop in the price of oil pulled energy shares lower.

The S&P/TSX composite index fell 282.98 points, or 1.88%, to close at 14,790.15. Eight of the 10 TSX main groups finished lower.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index shed 15.39 points, or 0.59%, to 2,613.41.

In New York, U.S. stocks rose on Thursday as a drop in oil prices fueled investor optimism about consumer spending, driving shares of transportation and retailers sharply higher.

The Dow Jones industrial average up 34.03 points, or 0.28%, at 12,063.09. The S&P 500 ended up 5.02 points, or 0.38%, at 1,342.83. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index finished up 32.36 points, or 1.33%, at 2,462.07.