Oil prices firmed today as traders examined a better than expected payrolls report in the US, the world's leading energy consumer.
Brent North Sea crude for delivery in October gained just 31 cents to $77.24 a barrel in London trade. New York's main contract, light sweet crude for October, inched five cents higher to stand at $75.07.
In an eagerly-awaited unemployment report, the US Labor Department said the US economy lost 54,000 jobs in August, far better than market expectations for a larger loss of 120,000 jobs for last month.
The figures, which are seen as a crucial litmus test for the sputtering US economic recovery, spurred European and US stock markets higher.
Oil prices had risen yesterday after a fresh batch of better than expected US figures on housing, benefits and factory orders that suggested the outlook was not as bad as had been feared.
The market was also supported by hurricane concerns in the Gulf of Mexico, where many energy installations are based, and by news of an explosion on an oil rig in the region.
Oil prices also jumped yesterday in the wake of strong manufacturing data from the US and China - the world's two biggest consumers of oil. The oil market had fallen sharply on Monday and Tuesday as traders fretted over the pace of the US economic recovery and growing fuel inventories.
