NEW YORK: Oil prices were mixed Friday after the United States, the world’’s biggest energy consumer, reported its jobless rate jumped to 9.7 percent but with a narrowing decline in payrolls in August.
New York’’s main contract, light sweet crude for October delivery, ended at 68.02 dollars a barrel, up six cents from Thursday’’s close. London’’s Brent North Sea crude for October delivery was down 30 cents to 66.82 dollars a barrel.
Some profit taking was reported ahead of the US Labor Day holiday weekend.
The US Labor Department reported early Friday that the unemployment rate climbed to 9.7 percent with 216,000 jobs lost in August from 9.4 percent and a revised 276,000 jobs lost in July.
Most analysts had expected 230,000 job losses and an unemployment rate of 9.5 percent in August.
“Prices have been swinging between the poles of a range set over the past few months moving up and down as sentiment about recovery changes,” said Mike Fitzpatrick of MF Global.
“The hopeful optimism of the past few weeks has given way to disappointment that more evidence of a solid sustainable recovery remains elusive,” he said.
There are concerns that a rising jobless rate could dampen consumer confidence critical to any US recovery from prolonged recession.
Despite the bearish sentiment, Fitzpatrick said current prices, nearer to recent highs, would “probably not reverse to lows seen earlier in the year.”
He expected OPEC to maintain current production quotas at next week’’s ministerial meeting in Vienna “which should also lend support.”
Angola, 2009 president of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, has said the cartel should maintain production at existing levels during the September 9 meeting.
OPEC has influence over global oil prices because the cartel pumps about 40 percent of the world’’s crude.
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