Crude prices fell on Thursday after the International Energy Agency cut its estimate of 2008 global oil demand raising concerns about diminishing world economic growth.

The IEA warning came along with news that the second- largest U.S. company by market value, General Electric Co., reported its quarterly profit fell for the first time since 2003.

Crude oil futures for May delivery fell 0.66 cents or 0.60 percent to $109.45 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Friday at 11:39 a.m. Prices rose to a record of $112.21 on Wednesday as inventories dropped more than expected.

The prices of crude are up 77 percent from a year ago.

The IEA cut its 2008 global oil demand forecast for a third straight month by 310,000 barrels to 87.23 million barrels a day, the agency reported on Friday. Last month its estimate was of 87.54 million barrels a day.

General Electric Co., is commonly seen as an indicator of the U.S. economy reported its profit fell 6 percent to $4.3 billion from $4.57 billion a year ago.

The results brought attention from investors which wonder the impact of the GE news on demand.

However, according to the IEA outlook, demand from Asia may increase and investors observed Chinese crude imports were higher than expected. March crude oil imports into China demand soared to a record of 17.3 million metric tons, Reuters noted.

Brent crude for delivery in three months fell 0.31 cents or 0.29 percent to $107.60 a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange on Friday.