Oil rose to near $107 a barrel today after a disappointing US jobs report made it more likely the Federal Reserve will continue its stimulus programme beyond September. Benchmark crude for September delivery was up three cents to $106.97 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 95 cents to close at $106.94 a barrel on Friday. Brent crude, traded on the ICE Futures exchange in London, fell 14 cents to $108.81 per barrel. US employers added 162,000 jobs in July, which was below expectations. The government also revised down gains for the prior two months when it released its employment figures last Friday. Some analysts were expecting the Fed to start reducing its massive economic stimulus programme in September. However, the disappointing employment data raised hopes that the Fed might continue its $85 billion a month in government bond purchases until the end of the year. The bond purchases have pushed down interest rates, which makes money available for spending and investment. But the purchases also inject more dollars into the economy, which lowers their value. That tends to push up the price of oil as it becomes more affordable for investors using other currencies.

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