By Mark Shenk March 5 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil surged to a seven-week high after U.S. employment declined less than forecast in February, bolstering optimism that fuel demand will climb in the world’s biggest energy-consuming country. Oil rose as much as 1.7 percent after the Labor Department reported that payrolls dropped 36,000 last month. The total was forecast to fall by 68,000, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. U.S. fuel use, averaged over the past four weeks, was 19.3 million barrels, up 3 percent from a year earlier, an Energy Department report on March 3 showed. “The employment numbers were quite good relative to expectations, so I’m surprised the market isn’t responding more,” said Michael Fitzpatrick, vice president of energy at MF Global in New York. Crude oil for April delivery rose $1.19, or 1.5 percent, to $81.40 a barrel at 9:09 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures reached $81.54, the highest level since Jan. 12. The contract is up 2.2 percent this week. Brent crude oil for April delivery climbed $1.20, or 1.5 percent, to $79.74 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The contract touched $79.84, the highest level since Jan. 12. “We had a nice spike up on the jobless report,” said Addison Armstrong, director of market research at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut. “Whenever we get above $80 the bids seem to dry up. I will have to see us close above $80 for a few more days before I’m convinced we’re going to test $84.96.” The April oil contract surged to $84.96 a barrel on Jan. 11, the highest since October 2008. To contact the reporter on this story: Mark Shenk in New York at mshenk1@bloomberg.net

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