The August US jobs report showed fewer new jobs created last month than forecast in a Reuters poll. But it also showed the unemployment rate was at its lowest in more than seven years.
The jobs report raised prospects for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates sooner rather than later, analysts said. While that would be positive for the dollar, any rise in the currency also tends to weigh on commodities, including oil.
“There’s a sell-off in both energy and equity futures,” David Thompson, executive vice-president at Powerhouse, an energy-specialised commodities broker in Washington, told Reuters.
The oil market shadowed Wall Street through most of this week, rising and falling in tandem with stock prices. The key S&P 500 indicator for US stocks was down 1.3% by 10:20am EDT.
The front-month contract in Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil, was down $0.45, or nearly 1%, at $50.23 a barrel, Reuters said.
US crude’s front-month slid $0.40, or also about 1%, to $46.35.
Oil services firm Baker Hughes will issue its weekly reading on the US oil rig count at 1:00pm EDT. The rig count has risen for six consecutive weeks so far.
A drop in the reading indicates less drilling for oil in the future, and would alleviate the weak price outlook from an oversupplied crude market, Reuters said.
The August US jobs report showed fewer new jobs created last month than forecast in a Reuters poll. But it also showed the unemployment rate was at its lowest in more than seven years.
The jobs report raised prospects for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates sooner rather than later, analysts said. While that would be positive for the dollar, any rise in the currency also tends to weigh on commodities, including oil.
“There’s a sell-off in both energy and equity futures,” David Thompson, executive vice-president at Powerhouse, an energy-specialised commodities broker in Washington, told Reuters.
The oil market shadowed Wall Street through most of this week, rising and falling in tandem with stock prices. The key S&P 500 indicator for US stocks was down 1.3% by 10:20am EDT.
The front-month contract in Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil, was down $0.45, or nearly 1%, at $50.23 a barrel, Reuters said.
US crude’s front-month slid $0.40, or also about 1%, to $46.35.
Oil services firm Baker Hughes will issue its weekly reading on the US oil rig count at 1:00pm EDT. The rig count has risen for six consecutive weeks so far.
A drop in the reading indicates less drilling for oil in the future, and would alleviate the weak price outlook from an oversupplied crude market, Reuters said.