Forexpros – Crude futures rose on Friday on the coattails of strong U.S. jobs data, which fueled hopes that the world’s largest economy is picking up the pace of its recovery.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in March traded at USD97.11 a barrel, up 0.77%.
The commodity hit an earlier session high of USD97.47 and a low of USD96.03.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics unveiled jobs data Friday that would serve as the chief steering current for most markets throughout the day.
In January, the economy added a net 243,000 net nonfarm payrolls, well above expectations for a gain of 150,000.
The move sent market spirits soaring on the notion that a more robust U.S. economy will need more oil and derivatives such as gasoline to fuel future growth.
Furthermore, Iran said it would not halt its nuclear program despite sanctions from the West to do just that, which further sent oil prices gaining, Brent crude especially.
“This news flow should continue to build a Brent premium, and could widen the Brent-WTI (U.S. crude) spread,” Commerzbank oil analyst Carsten Fritsch said, according to Reuters.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for March delivery were up 1.10% and trading at USD113.31 a barrel, up USD16.20 from its U.S. counterpart.
The gap in price between the two contracts hovers toward the higher end of a range between a nearly USD20.00 all-time high and a historical spread of USD1.00.
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