Investing.com - Crude oil futures extended sharp gains to hit a one-week high on Thursday, after data showed that the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. fell to the lowest level since January 2008 last week. Stronger-than-expected data on manufacturing activity out of the euro zone and China further supported gains. Appetite for riskier assets was also boosted after the Federal Reserve on Wednesday gave no indications on whether it will begin to taper its stimulus program in the near future. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in September traded at USD106.92 a barrel during U.S. morning trade, up 1.8%. Nymex oil prices rose to USD107.23 a barrel earlier in the session, the highest level since July 24. Oil prices spiked to the highest levels of the session after the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending July 26 fell by 19,000 to a seasonally adjusted 326,000. Jobless claims for the preceding week were revised up to a gain of 345,000, from a previously reported 343,000. Analysts had expected U.S. jobless claims to hold steady at 345,000 last week. Meanwhile, data indicating that the slump in the euro zone’s manufacturing sector is easing further supported gains. Data released earlier showed that July’s euro zone manufacturing purchasing managers’ index improved to a two-year high of 50.3 from 48.8 in June. Germany’s manufacturing PMI was revised up to an 18-month high of 50.7 in July from a final reading of 48.6 in June and above the preliminary reading of 50.3. Sentiment was also buoyed following the release of stronger-than-expected data on Chinese factory activity. A government report released earlier in the session showed that China’s manufacturing purchasing managers' index rose unexpectedly to 50.3 in July from 50.1 in June. A reading above 50.0 indicates industry expansion, below indicates contraction. China is the world's second largest oil consumer after the U.S. and manufacturing numbers are used as indicators for fuel demand growth. Meanwhile, the Fed said on Wednesday that it would keep buying USD85 billion a month in mortgage and Treasury securities and added that the pace of economic growth is "modest". The Fed’s stimulus program is viewed by many investors as a key driver in boosting the price of commodities as it tends to depress the value of the dollar. Market players now looked ahead to highly-anticipated data on U.S. nonfarm payrolls due on Friday for indications of how the recovery in the U.S. labor market is progressing. Oil traders have long been taking cues from the monthly jobs report, the most-closely followed indicator of U.S. employment, because it offers insight into the economic health of the world's biggest crude-oil consumer. An improving economy is generally correlated with increased demand for oil and fuel products like gasoline. The September contract settled up 1.9% at USD105.03 a barrel on Wednesday, after official data showed that the U.S. economy grew more-than-expected in the second quarter of 2012. The Commerce Department said that gross domestic product grew at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.7% in the three months to June, beating expectations for growth of 1%. The robust GDP data came after payroll processing firm ADP said non-farm private employment rose by a seasonally adjusted 200,000 in July, above expectations for an increase of 180,000. Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for September delivery rallied 1.3% to trade at a three-month high of USD109.09 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at USD2.17 a barrel.

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