Investing.com - Crude oil futures were higher Thursday following the release of U.S. labor data showing improvement in the job market and spurring hopes of increased demand by the world’s largest oil consumer.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange light, sweet crude futures for August delivery traded at USD98.90 a barrel during early Asian trade, gaining 0.23% after hitting a daily high of 98.97.
Earlier in the day, official figures from Automatic Data Processing Inc. showed the U.S. economy added 157,000 jobs in June, far exceeding market projections of a 60,000 rise for the month. The U.S. added 36,000 jobs in May.
In a separate release the U.S. Labor Department announced that jobless claims for the week ending July 2 fell by 14,000 to a seasonally adjusted 418,000, outperforming economist’s estimates.
Upward momentum in oil futures was somewhat muted by the announcement from the U.S. Energy Information Administration that weekly inventory declined less than expected.
U.S. crude oil inventories fell by 900,000 barrels for the week ending July 1, according to the EIA. Market estimates were for crude stockpiles to drop by 2.5 million barrels.
Gains by the U.S. dollar helped to curb a sharp hike in crude prices. The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.07% to trade at 75.27.
On the ICE Futures Exchange Brent oil futures for August delivery slipped 0.15% to trade at USD118.16.
The U.S. Labor Department was to release nonfarm payroll figures for the month of June on Friday.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange light, sweet crude futures for August delivery traded at USD98.90 a barrel during early Asian trade, gaining 0.23% after hitting a daily high of 98.97.
Earlier in the day, official figures from Automatic Data Processing Inc. showed the U.S. economy added 157,000 jobs in June, far exceeding market projections of a 60,000 rise for the month. The U.S. added 36,000 jobs in May.
In a separate release the U.S. Labor Department announced that jobless claims for the week ending July 2 fell by 14,000 to a seasonally adjusted 418,000, outperforming economist’s estimates.
Upward momentum in oil futures was somewhat muted by the announcement from the U.S. Energy Information Administration that weekly inventory declined less than expected.
U.S. crude oil inventories fell by 900,000 barrels for the week ending July 1, according to the EIA. Market estimates were for crude stockpiles to drop by 2.5 million barrels.
Gains by the U.S. dollar helped to curb a sharp hike in crude prices. The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.07% to trade at 75.27.
On the ICE Futures Exchange Brent oil futures for August delivery slipped 0.15% to trade at USD118.16.
The U.S. Labor Department was to release nonfarm payroll figures for the month of June on Friday.