WSJ:OIL FUTURES: Crude Prices Tick Higher Ahead Of Nonfarm Payrolls
-- Crude prices tick higher ahead of nonfarm payroll data
-- Brent/WTI spread still near 11-week highs
-- Analysts say Brent due a correction if no new supply risks emerge
By Sarah Kent
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
LONDON (Dow Jones)--Oil futures ticked higher Friday, following equity markets and the euro with little else to give it direction ahead of U.S. nonfarm payroll data later in the day.
At 1041 GMT, the front-month March Brent contract on London's ICE futures exchange was 33 cents, or 0.3%, higher at $112.40 a barrel.
The front-month March contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange was trading up 62 cents, or 0.7%, at $96.98 per barrel.
Later on, market focus is likely to change to the U.S. nonfarm payroll data which are expected to show an increase of 125,000 jobs, according to a survey by Dow Jones Newswires.
However, analysts said that if the numbers came in as expected they were unlikely to move the market much.
"They might bring a little volatility, but we need some very strong numbers either way for them to have any real input," said Olivier Jakob, managing director at Swiss consultancy Petromatrix.
Meanwhile, the spread between Brent and WTI remained near its widest range in 11 weeks, as geopolitical concerns continued to underpin Brent, while stock builds at WTI's delivery point of Cushing, Okla. put pressure on the Nymex contract.
U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Thursday there was a "strong likelihood" that Israel would strike Iran's nuclear installations this spring, highlighting the risks of conflict in the region.
However, analysts said that unless new or more concrete supply-side risks materialize a decline in the price of Brent was highly likely.
"Provided there is no escalation of tensions in the Middle East or a softer dollar driven rally in equities, a short-term correction in Brent is only a matter of time," said VTB Capital in a note.
At 1041 GMT, the ICE's gasoil contract for March delivery was up $8.50, or 0.9%, at $958.00 per metric ton, while Nymex gasoline for March delivery was 189 points, or 0.7%, higher at $2.8878 per gallon.
-By Sarah Kent, Dow Jones Newswires; 4420-7842-9376; sarah.kent@dowjones.com
