Oil prices sink after mixed US jobs report

Crude oil prices sank Friday after a weaker-than-expected jobs report in the United States cast a cloud over demand in the world's biggest oil consumer. New York's main futures contract, West Texas Intermediate for September delivery, closed at $106.94 a barrel, down 95 cents from Thursday. In London trade, Brent North Sea crude for delivery in September fell 59 cents to finish at $108.95 a barrel. The keenly awaited US monthly jobs report came in mixed and weaker than expected. The unemployment rate fell to 7.4 percent in July from 7.6 percent in June, but on the downside the US added only 162,000 jobs, far short of expectations. Prior months' job gains were revised lower. The report weighed on Wall Street stocks and sent the dollar lower. "If the job market (reading) is lower than anticipated, so is the prospect of demand for oil," said Phil Flynn of Price Futures Group. Oil retreated after two straight days of gains, which notably found support Thursday from upbeat manufacturing data in the US, China and the eurozone. "Crude oil continued to trade on its favored correlation with equities" and shrugged off a decline in the dollar, said Tim Evans of Citi Futures. Typically a weaker dollar encourages demand for the dollar-priced commodity. The US worldwide alert against possible terrorist attacks in August may be helping to support oil prices from further falls, Flynn said. On Friday the US State Department warned US citizens to use caution, warning of intelligence indicating Al-Qaeda continued to plan terrorist attacks, particularly in the Middle East-North Africa region in August. The warning came a day after the US announced some two dozen embassies or consulates would be closed on Sunday as a precaution. The warnings from the State Department "might be some support to the market going into the weekend -- some risk-premium building here," Flynn said. Investors also were focused over potential supply disruptions in the Middle East and Africa. "Protests in Libya's oilfields, insurgents targeting Iraq's pipeline, technical problems and oil thefts in Nigeria (have) brought about worries about the availability of supplies," said Lee Chen Hoay, investment analyst at Phillip Futures.