WASHINGTON (Alliance News) - Crude oil prices are modestly higher Friday morning with investors looking ahead to the crucial monthly US non-farm payrolls data.
Crude oil futures for June delivery are up USD0.40 or 0.4% at USD99.82 a barrel, after having advanced to USD100.08 a barrel earlier.
On Thursday, crude futures ended down USD0.32 or 0.3% at USD99.42 a barrel, after declining to a low of USD98.74 a barrel intraday, following a notable surge in US crude stockpiles and on concerns about demand growth.
Meanwhile, natural gas for June is up USD0.037 or 0.78% at USD4.757 per million btu.
The US Labor Department will release its non-farm payrolls report for April at 8:30 am ET. Economists expect the economy to have added 215,000 jobs in April, while the jobless rate is expected to tick down to 6.6%.
The Commerce Department's report on factory orders for March will be out at 10 am ET. The consensus estimate calls for a 1.4% month-over-month increase in factory orders.
