BP spill among factors that could push oil to $90 a barrel in 2011, analysts say By Polya Lesova, MarketWatch FRANKFORT MarketWatch) -- Crude-oil futures traded just below $73 a barrel on Friday, as caution dominated sentiment ahead of the release of the U.S. payrolls report for June. Crude for August delivery edged down 7 cents to $72.87 a barrel on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract posted steep losses on Thursday as various economic data rekindled worries over a slowdown in global growth and its potential impact on energy demand. "Worse-than-expected U.S. economic data increased the concerns about an economic recovery and led to massive selling pressure on the commodity markets," said analysts at Commerzbank in a note to clients. "This could continue" if the U.S. labor-market data don't meet market expectations, the analysts said. The Labor Department will report jobs data at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time. Economists expect total nonfarm payrolls to drop by 130,000 in June after having risen 431,000 in the preceding month, a figure skewed by hiring of temporary Census workers. The U.S. jobless rate is expected to edge up to 9.8% in June from 9.7% in May. With the first storm of the Atlantic hurricane season spewing more crude oil from the BP Plc (BP 29.79, +0.40, +1.36%) onto beaches and marshes, U.S. Coast Guard and BP officials said they might have to wait until Saturday to resume cleanup operations now likely to be suspended for a fourth day. Read how analysts believe spill could push oil prices higher. In other energy news, Russia's oil production hit a record high in June and remained above 10 million barrels a day for the 10th month in a row, Reuters reported, citing an unnamed industry source. This performance means Russia remains the world's top oil producer, ahead of Saudi Arabia, according to the report.

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