Forexpros – Crude futures dropped Friday as markets blew off Iran’s threats to close a key waterway and instead focused on U.S. unemployment rates, which beat expectations and sent investors racing towards the dollar.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in February traded at USD101.27 a barrel in U.S. trading, down 0.54%.
The commodity hit a session high of USD102.79 and a low of USD100.89.
Oil spent recent sessions spiking on fears that Iran may make good on threats to cut off access to the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow passageway that connects the oil-rich Persian Gulf nations with the rest of the world.
On Friday, however, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that December’s nonfarm payrolls rose by a net 200,000, far outpacing expectations for a gain of around 150,000.
The news sparked demand for the dollar, which trades inversely from crude, and gave investors reason to sell oil and take profits.
Furthermore, ongoing European debt fears grew worse on Friday with weak German factory data, which further depressed crude prices.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for February delivery were down 0.15%, trading at USD112.58 a barrel, up USD11.31 from its U.S. counterpart.
The gap in price between the two contracts hovers on the higher end between a nearly USD20.00 all-time high and a historical spread of USD1.00.
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