WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Crude oil prices climbed higher on Friday, but still posted a weekly loss amid concerns about demand due to economic slowdown.
Oil prices moved higher today, lifted by data showing a bigger than expected addition in U.S. jobs in the month of July.
West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended higher by $0.47 or about 0.5% at $89.01 a barrel, the lowest settlement since February 2.
WTI crude futures suffered their biggest weekly loss in about six months, declining by about 9.7%.
Brent crude futures settled at $94.92 a barrel today, gaining $0.80 or about 0.9%.
Data released by the Labor Department showed non-farm payroll employment in the U.S. spiked by 528,000 jobs in July after surging by an upwardly revised 398,000 jobs in June.
Economists had expected employment to climb by about 250,000 jobs compared to the addition of 372,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.
With the stronger than expected job growth, the unemployment rate unexpectedly edged down to 3.5% in July from 3.6% in June. The unemployment rate was expected to remain unchanged.
A report from Baker Hughes showed the oil rig count dropped by seven this week to 598. Compared to the level a year ago, oil rigs are up by 211.
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