US crude oil rose in volatile trade this evening as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke made cautiously optimistic comments about the economic recovery and a government report showed that the US unemployment rate fell although fewer jobs than expected were added in December.
Oil prices seesawed with the dollar immediately after the jobs report. By this evening, US crude was up 60 cents to $88.98 a barrel.
In a rare market move, the price of Brent and US crude futures pushed in opposite directions most of the day, though trading for both contracts was volatile. In London, Brent fell 39 cents to $94.13 a barrel.
Analysts said the price premium of Brent to US crude - also known as West Texas Intermediate (WTI) - remained exceptionally high and should tighten over the coming weeks.
