WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Crude oil prices rose sharply on Friday, trimming weekly losses after a mixed reading on the U.S. jobs market.
May crude rose 85 cents, or 0.9 percent, to settle at $101.14 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Prices were down about 0.5 percent for the week, breaking a string of weekly gains.
Natural gas futures were down about 1 percent at $4.42 per million btu.
The Labor Department said U.S. non-farm payroll employment rose by 192,000 jobs in March compared to economist estimates for an increase of about 200,000 jobs.
While the March results were slightly disappointing, upward revisions to the January and February numbers suggest the jobs situation was not as dire as feared over the winter.
Meanwhile, Libyan rebels reportedly reached a deal with the government allowing four key ports to re-open by the end of the month.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX