Oil extends gains above $108 before US jobs report

The price of oil rose slightly Friday ahead of the release of a key U.S. employment report, AP reported. Benchmark oil for October delivery was up 29 cents at $108.66 per barrel at late afternoon Bangkok time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract gained $1.14 to close at $108.37 on Thursday. Traders were refraining from big moves before the U.S. Labor Department releases employment data for August. Many investors believe that strong growth will ensure that the Federal Reserve will start to reduce, or "taper," its massive bond-buying program later this month. The U.S. central bank is buying $85 billion in bonds a month to keep long-term interest rates low and stimulate the economy. Fed stimulus has helped drive a bull market in stocks that has lasted more than four years. Brent, the benchmark for international crudes, rose 12 cents to $115.38 per barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London. Brent has risen sharply recently due to fears of a U.S. intervention in Syria, even if the scale of the attack is now expected to be low. President Barack Obama continued to press skeptical U.S. lawmakers to give him the authority to use military force. Obama won little backing at an economic summit this week in St. Petersburg, Russia. Francis Lun, chief economist at GE Oriental Financial Group in Hong Kong, said the situation in Syria led to recent rises in oil prices but he suggested that its overall effect on markets would not be profound. "I think Syria will be a limited regional war," he said. In other energy futures trading on Nymex: - Wholesale gasoline rose 0.1 cent to $2.835 per gallon. - Natural gas fell 0.5 cent to $3.57 per 1,000 cubic feet. - Heating oil rose 0.2 cent to $3.142 per gallon.