MW: Crude trims decline on heels of September jobs
By MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Crude-oil futures pared losses to return above $81 a barrel Friday, recovering after the government reported the U.S. unemployment rate remained unchanged at 9.6% in September as the economy lost 95,000 jobs.
Moreover, analysts noted that the addition of private-sector jobs — up 64,000 on the month — as well as an upward revision for August. See more on surprisingly weak U.S. employment data for September.
“Weak headline payrolls print was offset by a decent pop in private payrolls and a steady jobless rate, neither of which are sufficiently strong to keep the Fed sidelined later this year,” said Action Economics, referring to expectations of further quantitative easing ahead by the Federal Reserve.
The contract for November delivery (CLX10 81.61, -0.06, -0.07%) fell 31 cents to $81.35 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It had fallen as low as $80.30 earlier in the session.
The benchmark contract on Thursday shed $1.56 a barrel.
