Oil fell from a six-week high today, pressured by gains in the dollar following the release of better-than-expected US job-loss numbers.
US employers cut 247,000 jobs in July, far less than expected and the least in any month since last August, according to a US government report, adding to optimism that the world's largest economy was turning around.
US crude traded down 23 cents a barrel to $71.71 a barrel at 5.24pm, after briefly touching a six-week high of $72.84.
London Brent crude fell 48 cents to $74.35 a barrel.
The drop came as the dollar gained against the euro and the yen, putting pressure on commodities denominated in the greenback. Wall Street gained following the release of the US jobs data.
The economic crisis has damped fuel demand, pushing crude from record highs near $150 a barrel in July 2008 to below $33 a barrel in December.
