Crude Oil Ends Higher On China Data; Sheds 1.3% For Week

(RTTNews) - U.S. crude oil snapped a two-day loss to end higher Friday, on some encouraging import data from China, notwithstanding disappointing non-farm payroll jobs data from the U.S. that showed growth albeit far less than expected. Prices were also supported by a dollar that trended lower against some major currencies, making it cheaper for holders of other currencies to buy oil.

For the week, crude oil ended lower by about 1.3 percent.

China's trade surplus missed forecast as exports growth eased more than expected in December, while imports beat expectations signaling robust domestic demand, data from the General Administration of Customs showed Friday.

Meanwhile, a Labor Department report on Friday showed U.S. employment increased far lesser than expected in December, due partly to the inclement winter weather. Nonetheless, U.S. unemployment rate dropped in December, down at its lowest level since October 2008. The decline was largely due to a decrease in the size of the labor force as some unemployed people gave up looking for work.

Light Sweet Crude Oil futures for February delivery, the most actively traded contract, gained $1.06 or 1.2 percent to close at $92.72 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Friday.

Crude prices for February delivery scaled a high of $93.38 a barrel intraday and a low of $91.99.

Yesterday, oil dropped for a second straight session ahead of the monthly non-farm payrolls data with investors continuing to weigh the prospects of increased oil supply from Libya. The North African country is expected to lift its oil production and export to normal, stoking fears of oversupply even as traders mulled over the latest supply data from the U.S. indicating huge stockpiles of distillates and gasoline.

The dollar index, which tracks the U.S. unit against six major currencies, traded at 80.60 on Friday, down from its previous close of 80.94 late Thursday in North American trade. The dollar scaled a high of 81.14 intraday and a low of 80.53.

The euro traded higher against the dollar at $1.3671 on Friday, as compared to its previous close of $1.3608 late Thursday in North America. The euro scaled a high of $1.3687 intraday and a low of $1.3576.

In economic news from the U.S., the U.S. Labor Department said said non-farm payroll employment edged up by 74,000 jobs in December following an upwardly revised increase of 241,000 jobs in November. Economists had been expecting employment to increase by about 200,000 jobs compared to the addition of 203,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month. Despite the weaker than expected job growth, the unemployment rate dropped to 6.7 percent in December from 7.0 percent in November.

Meanwhile, wholesale inventories in the U.S. increased in line with economist estimates in November, a report from the Commerce Department showed Friday. Wholesale inventories rose 0.5 percent in November following a revised 1.3 percent increase in October. Inventories were up 3.3 percent compared to the same month a year ago.

China's trade surplus missed forecast as exports growth eased more than expected in December, while imports beat expectations signaling robust domestic demand, data from the General Administration of Customs showed Friday.

China's exports grew 4.3 percent year-on-year in December, slower than a 5 percent expansion forecast by economists. The pace of growth decelerated sharply from November's 12.7 percent increase. Meanwhile, import growth accelerated unexpectedly last month, taking the annual growth rate to 8.3 percent. This followed a 5.3 percent gain in November and exceeded forecasts for a 5 percent rise. The trade balance showed a surplus of $25.6 billion, down from $33.8 billion in November and $32.15 billion surplus forecast.

Elsewhere, the U.K.'s industrial production remained unchanged in November compared with the previous month, the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics showed. The weaker-than-expected outcome followed two successive months of improvement. Output increased by a revised 0.3 percent in October and 0.9 percent in September. Economists had forecast a 0.4 percent increase in November.