The price of crude oil continued to rise Friday, a day after posting its biggest jump this year, as traders awaited the release of a closely watched U.S. employment report.
By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark crude for June delivery was up 61 cents to $94.60 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The price rose sharply on Thursday as the European Central Bank cut its key interest rate to a new low and U.S. unemployment benefit claims dropped. The Nymex contract rose $2.96, or 3.3 percent, to finish at $93.99 a barrel, the biggest one-day gain for crude since November.
