Oil rises on anticipation of improved jobs report in US

The price of oil rose as tradersanticipated positive news in the monthly U.S. jobs report.Benchmark U.S. crude for May delivery gained 67 cents Thursday to close at $100.29a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, used to set prices forinternational varieties of oil, rose $1.36 to $106.15 a barrel on the ICE Futuresexchange in London, AP reported.The Labor Department releases its March employment report Friday. Economistsproject that employers added 191,000 workers last month, according to a survey byFactSet. That would be an improvement from February, when employers added175,000 positions.After Thursday's gain, oil is down 38 cents a barrel so far this week.In other energy futures trading in New York:- Wholesale gasoline added 5 cents to $2.91 a gallon.- Natural gas jumped 11 cents to $4.47 per 1,000 cubic feet.- Heating oil gained 4 cents to $2.91 a gallon.