MW: Crude futures tick higher after U.S. jobs report
By Nick Godt, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Crude-oil futures traded a little higher Friday, stabilizing as energy traders played off Labor Department data showing that the U.S. economy added 103,000 jobs in December and that the unemployment rate fell to 9.4%.
Crude for February delivery (CLG11 88.99, +0.61, +0.69%) rose 13 cents, or 0.2%, to $88.51 a barrel.
Payrolls for November and October were also revised higher by 70,000 jobs, the government said.
While the December gain in jobs fell short of expectations, the jobless rate fell against expectations for it to stay flat with November’s 9.8% .
“It is obvious by the preponderance of data that indeed the economy is starting to mend,” said Phil Flynn, energy analyst at PFGBest, in a note.
However, he said that upward pressure on both the dollar and Treasury yields might cap crude’s advance.
In recent action, the dollar index (DXY 80.93, +0.14, +0.18%) , which measures the U.S. unit against a basket of six major currencies, moved fractionally higher to 80.80.
On Thursday, the crude contract slumped 2.2% to end well below $89 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange as investors trimmed some of last year’s rapid gains.
