MW: Oil futures hold under $80 as payrolls data await
By MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Oil futures were trading below the $80-a-barrel mark Friday morning ahead of key employment data that could serve as an indicator for U.S. energy demand.
Crude-oil futures were up a penny to $79.63 in screen trading, having risen as high as $80.35 and fallen as low as $79.52.
The contract closed below $80 on Thursday, failing to get a lift when U.S. stocks rallied on Cisco Systems and positive economic data.
"Even though better than expected U.S. data boosted the U.S. and European equity markets, crude oil market participants remained cautious ahead of the key Friday's U.S. nonfarm payroll figure," said analysts from Sucden Research.
According to the survey of economists conducted by MarketWatch, seasonally adjusted payroll losses are projected to decline from 263,000 in September to just 150,000 in October, which would be the fewest jobs lost since July 2008. At its worst point, the economy was shedding about 700,000 jobs a month.
