Oil dropped to fresh eight-month lows below $82 a barrel today in Asia with investors selling off stocks and commodities after a dismal US jobs report.
Benchmark oil for July delivery was down $1.25 to $81.98 per barrel, the lowest since October, late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract retreated $3.30 to settle at $83.23 in New York on Friday.
In London, Brent crude for July delivery was down $1.26 at $97.17 per barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
According to the Labour Department's report published Friday, employers in the US added just 69,000 jobs in May, the lowest in May in a year and well below economists' expectations.
The unemployment rate was up for the first time since last June, to 8.2 per cent from 8.1 per cent.
It was the third straight month of disappointing US job growth, pointing to a slowing economy with expectations of lower oil demand this year.
