By CommoditiesMansion.com
Crude oil prices rose on Thursday to reach near its highest level this year, where the never ending saga in Libya continues to support the rally in oil prices, while good economic news from the United States also supported oil prices, where data from the labor market suggested further improvement is undergoing, while manufacturing activities continue to expand in the United States.
Moreover, investors will be waiting on Friday for the jobs report, which will confirm whether the labor market in the United States is recovering over a strong pace or not, while the ISM manufacturing index is expected to show manufacturing activities eased in March, however, the expansion in the manufacturing sector continues to be rather strong.
We should warn investors that Friday might witness further demonstrations across the Middle East and North Africa regions, where demonstrations usually start after the Friday prayers in the Arab world, and that could play a role in supporting oil prices.
Friday 12:30, the U.S. Labor Department will release the jobs report, where Non-farm payrolls are expected to rise by 195,000 jobs in March, compared with the prior rise of 192,000 jobs back in February, while unemployment is expected to remain unchanged at 8.9 percent.
Friday 14:00, the Institute for Supply Management will release its manufacturing index for the month of March, where the index expanded in February to reach 61.4, and median estimates suggest the index will ease slightly to 61.0 in March.
Originally posted here
