LONDON — Brent crude oil steadied above $107 a barrel on Friday on optimism US jobs data would confirm accelerating economic growth in the world’s top oil consumer.
US nonfarm payrolls data were due at 1.30pm GMT and a Reuters poll pointed to a recovery in US jobs growth to 185,000 in January from a disappointing 74,000 in December.
The bullish outlook was reinforced by a report showing the number of Americans filing new unemployment benefit claims fell slightly more than expected last week.
"There is quite a bit of optimism we’ll get good numbers and that is supporting oil," said Ben Le Brun, market analyst at OptionsXpress.
Brent crude was up 5c at $107.24 by 9.20am GMT, after rising 0.9% in the previous session — its biggest daily gain since January 22.
US crude was down 50c at $97.34, squeezed by expectations of lower US domestic demand during the peak refinery maintenance season over the next few months.
Brent’s premium to the US benchmark was about $9.90 a barrel. The spread narrowed to $7.94 a barrel on Wednesday, the tightest since October 10.
If the nonfarm payrolls data deliver further signs of US economic growth, economists say it could prompt the Federal Reserve to limit further its monetary stimulus programme that has helped support risky assets such as commodities.
But traders reckoned it would take a significant deviation from expectations for the data to shake the oil market.
"The market will be fairly tolerant and not really think in terms of tapering unless we see very good or very bad numbers," said Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at CMC Markets.
Tighter supply of North Sea crude in March could support the Brent benchmark. Loading of the four crude streams Brent, Forties, Oseberg and Ekofisk will average 890,000 barrels a day in March, down from an expected 1.03-million barrels a day in February, according to loading programmes.
Investors will also keep a close eye on Saturday’s talks with Iran as the UN nuclear watchdog hopes to persuade the Islamic state to start addressing long-held suspicions it has worked on designing a nuclear bomb.
Tough international sanctions over the past two years have cut Iran’s oil exports in half.
