By DAVID BIRD NEW YORK—Crude-oil futures slipped below $99 a barrel after U.S. employment data fell short of expectations. The Labor Department said nonfarm payrolls increased by 54,000 in May, while economists expected a rise of 160,000. The unemployment rate rose to 9.1% from 9.0% a month earlier, counter to forecasts for a drop to 8.9%. Light, sweet crude for July delivery was trading about 90 cents lower before the jobs report, as futures remained under pressure from a large increase in U.S. oil and gasoline inventories in the latest week. The U.S. market is "swimming in crude," said Michael Wittner, an analyst at Société Générale in New York. After the jobs report was released, crude was down $1.80, or 1.8%, at $98.60 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for July delivery was $2 lower at $113.54 a barrel on the IntercontinentalExchange. Traders were watching developments in Yemen, where fierce fighting was reported Friday. Reports quoted rebels saying that President Ali Abdullah Saleh had been killed, but the government denied this and said he was planning an address to the nation. The U.S. is pressing for Mr. Saleh to cede power. "People are watching this because it is so close to Saudi Arabia," said Tom Bentz, a director at BNP Paribas, referring to the world's largest oil exporter, which has spent heavily on military and social programs as unrest as flared throughout the Middle East and North Africa.

Source