US crude prices fell sharply on Friday in volatile trade as a disappointing nonfarm payrolls report for June dashed hopes that the data would indicate a rebound for stalled economic growth.
News of reduced North Sea loadings helped Brent bounce back from earlier losses, and pushed the premium to its US counterpart to above USD 22 a barrel, the highest since June 15, according to Reuters data.
Even at the day's lows, US and Brent crude were on pace to post weekly gains.
US crude fell USD 2.57 to USD 96.10 a barrel as of 1:04 pm EDT (1704 GMT), dropping below front-month crude's 30-day moving average of USD 96.84. It hit a USD 95.60 intraday low.
Brent futures for August seesawed near flat, down 9 cents at USD 118.50 a barrel, well off a USD 119.87 intraday peak reached ahead of the US jobs report.
Even at Friday's USD 116.88 intraday low, Brent would post a weekly gain, after rising 6.33% last week.
Brent trading volumes slightly outpaced those of US crude, but both were just nearing half a million lots and only Brent looked likely to surpass its 30-day average.
US jobs growth ground to a near-halt in June. Nonfarm payrolls rose only 18,000, the weakest reading since September, the Labor Department said, well below economists' expectations for a rise of at least 90,000.
US crude briefly extended losses to more than USD 3 after US President Barack Obama said the jobs report confirms there is a long way to go to get the nation's economy back on track and that the impasse over the US debt limit was contributing to the economy's weakness.
Source: www.moneycontrol.com
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DENIP Consultants Pvt Ltd
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