By Polya Lesova, MarketWatch FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) -- Crude-oil futures rose above $81 a barrel Friday, extending their gains, after a key U.S. government report showed that fewer jobs were lost in February than economists had expected. Crude for April delivery rose 90 cents, or 1%, to $81.11 a barrel in electronic trading on Globex. It hit an intraday high of $81.34 a barrel. The contract stood near $80.69 a barrel before the Labor Department said nonfarm payrolls declined by 36,000 for February to 129.5 million. The number was much better than expected. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch projected that 90,000 jobs would be lost. The nation's unemployment rate was steady at 9.7%, official data showed. It had been expected to rise to 9.8%. Positive economic data tend to boost oil prices because it raises expectations of a swift recovery in the economy and with it, energy demand. The U.S. dollar also gained after the jobs data, but its advance didn't stall the gains in oil prices. The dollar index (DXY 80.78, +0.22, +0.27%) , which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of other major currencies, rose to 80.747 in recent trading, up from 80.575 before the data. Crude futures finished slightly lower on Thursday, while natural-gas futures dropped nearly 4% after the government reported supplies fell less than expect last week.

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