New York: Oil prices rose on Friday as fewer Americans than expected lost their jobs in February, a signal that the slow-healing employment market may soon boost demand for energy.
Benchmark crude for April delivery climbed 76 cents to $80.97 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 66 cents to settle at $80.21 on Thursday.
The Labor Department said the unemployment rate was steady at 9.7 perc ent last month as employers cut 36,000 jobs. Analysts had expected 50,000.
In other Nymex trading in April contracts, heating oil rose 0.83 cent to $2.0770 a gallon, and gasoline gained 1.01 cents to $2.2438 a gallon. Natural gas gained 0.4 cent at $4.579 per 1,000 cubic feet.
