NEW YORK - The price of oil posted its biggest gain in more than month, jumping nearly five per cent, after the government reported a sharp rise in jobs growth for July. Benchmark US crude yesterday rose US$4.27 to end the day at US$91.40 per barrel in New York. Brent crude, which sets the price for oil imported into the US, climbed US$3.04, or 2.9 per cent, to US$108.94 per barrel in London.
Prices climbed after the government said US employers added 163,000 jobs in July. Last month's hiring was the best since February, though it wasn't enough to drive down the unemployment rate. After rising sharply the first three weeks of July, the price of oil steadied as investors waited to see if central banks in the US and Europe would announce new stimulus measures. Yesterday, crude rose 4.9 per cent, the biggest one-day increase since June 29, when it rose 9.4 per cent.
In other energy futures trading, heating oil added 8.4 cents to finish at US$2.926 per gallon while wholesale gasoline added 6.1 cents to finish at US$2.931 per gallon. Natural gas was dropped 4.3 cents to finish at US$2.877 per 1,000 cubic feet.
AP