LONDON (SHARECAST) - Oil prices settled a touch higher on Thursday after upbeat jobs data however gains remained thin, as markets grow increasingly uneasy about the continued stalemate on the US debt ceiling.
Crude for September delivery rose 4 cents to settle at $97.44 a barrel in volatile trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
In London Brent crude settled down 7 cents lower at $117.36 a barrel on the ICE futures exchange.
Encouraging US economic data helped prices out of negative territory earlier in the session as data suggested an improvement in the jobs and housing market.
Figures from the Labor Department said initial weekly unemployment claims fell to 398,000 confounding expectations that the figure would only ease slightly to 412,000. Meanwhile pending home sales rose 2.4% in June. Analysts had been expecting a decline.
However the firmer dollar kept crude oil gains in check. The greenback generally trades in the opposite direction to commodities priced in dollars.
Gold prices drifted further away from its recent record highs as the dollar improved against major currencies. Trepidation ahead of an agreement on the US debt ceiling however kept losses small.
Gold for December delivery declined $1.10 to settle at $1,616.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
