Investing.com - Crude prices shot up on Friday after data revealed the U.S. added more payrolls than expected in February, a sign the economy may be gaining steam and will demand more fuel and energy going forward.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate crude for delivery in April traded at $102.62 a barrel during U.S. trading, up 1.04%. New York-traded oil futures hit a session low of $101.58 a barrel and a high of $102.89 a barrel.
The April contract settled up 0.11% at $101.56 a barrel on Thursday.
Nymex oil futures were likely to find support at $100.17 a barrel, Thursday's low, and resistance at $105.22 a barrel, Monday's high.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported earlier that the U.S. economy added 175,000 jobs in February, beating expectations for a 149,000 increase.
January's figure was revised up to 129,000 from 113,000.
The U.S. private sector added 162,000 jobs last month, exceeding expectations for a 154,000 rise. January's figure was revised up to 145,000 from 142,000.
The report also showed that the U.S. unemployment rate ticked up to 6.7% in February, from 6.6% the previous month. Analysts had expected the unemployment rate to remain unchanged last month.
Meanwhile, data also showed that the U.S. trade deficit expanded to $39.1 billion in January, from $38.98 billion in December, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated deficit of $38.7 billion.
Analysts had expected the trade deficit to expand to $39.00 billion in January.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil futures for April delivery were up 0.65% and trading at US$108.81 a barrel, while the spread between the Brent and U.S. crude contracts stood at US$6.19 a barrel.