Crude oil fluctuated after a government report showed the U.S. unexpectedly lost jobs last month while the unemployment rate declined.
Oil rose as much as 1.1 percent and slipped 0.9 percent after the Labor Department report was released in Washington. Employment fell by 20,000 in January as the jobless rate dropped to 9.7 percent, the lowest level since August. Prices plunged 5 percent yesterday, the biggest decrease since July 29.
“There’s a lot of uncertainty about how to interpret the payroll data,” said Tom Bentz, a senior energy analyst at BNP Paribas Commodity Futures Inc. in New York. “After yesterday’s big drop the market looks shaky, and it will be hard to maintain any moves higher.”
Crude oil for March delivery declined 8 cents to $73.06 a barrel at 10:38 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures were little changed this week and are up 77 percent from a year ago.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 0.1 percent to 1,064.35. The dollar climbed 0.3 percent versus the euro to $1.3677, from $1.3723 yesterday.
The "Super Cycle" in Gold and How It Will Affect Your Pocketbook in 2010
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