(RTTNews) - The price of crude oil was paring recent losses Friday morning as traders await cues from the non-farm pay roll data from the U.S. Labor Department
Tight supplies in Europe due to maintenance work in the North Sea and fear of tensions in the Middle East are supporting prices, analysts opined.
Light Sweet Crude Oil (WTI) futures for September delivery, added $1.19 to $88.32 a barrel. Yesterday, oil ended lower on concerns over the euro zone sovereign debt crisis with investors disappointed at the European Central Bank meeting outcome that indicated no concrete proposals. There were no positive moves to back European Central Bank President Mario Draghi's assurances last week that the central bank would do "whatever it takes" to protect the euro.
This morning, the U.S. dollar was paring recent gains versus the euro and continued to tick lower against sterling. The buck was moving higher versus the yen and edging lower against the Swiss franc.
In economic news, euro zone retail sales volume rose 0.1 percent month-on-month in June, Eurostat reported. The June increase was in contrast to a 0.1 percent fall forecast by economists. In May, retail trade increased 0.8 percent. On a yearly basis, retail sales fell 1.2 percent in June, bigger than the 0.8 percent drop logged in May. Economists had forecast a 1.9 percent drop for June.
Meanwhile, a survey report from Markit Economics revealed that the private sector in the euro zone contracted for the tenth time in the past 11 months. The final composite output index rose to 46.5 from 46.4 in June, Friday. According to flash estimate, the index remained unchanged at 46.4.
Traders will look to the non-farm payroll report for the month of July from the U.S. Labor Department, due out at 8.30 a.m ET. Economists expect non-farm payrolls for July to increase by 100,000 compared to the 80,000 jobs additions in June, while the unemployment rate is expected to remain unchanged at 8.2 percent. The private sector is expected to have added 110,000 jobs.
Later during the session, the Institute for Supply Management will release the results of its non-manufacturing survey. The non-manufacturing index is likely to show a reading of 52 for July compared to 52.1 in June.
