NEW YORK: Oil prices rose slightly after tame US jobs and economic data signalled the Federal Reserve might be less hasty to raise interest rates and as a surge in gasoline futures drove expectations for more crude demand.
Brent crude rose 30 cents to $62.31 a barrel by 1:12 p.m. EDT (1712 GMT), recovering part of Wednesday’s 2.5 percent drop.
US crude, also known as WTI, was up 21 cents to $57.17 a barrel.
It tumbled 4 percent in the previous session, the most since April, after a surprise inventory build last week.
With the Greek debt crisis unresolved and Iran nuclear talks ongoing, coupled with Friday’s US Independence Day holiday making for a longer-than-usual weekend, some caution prevailed, limiting the rally.
Also hampering the advance was the latest data on the US oil rig count from Baker Hughes. The firm said the number of rigs drilling for oil rose by 12 this week, the first rise since December.
“The momentum for crude is being washed out by the rig count number showing the first rise this year, after the weaker than expected jobs report had pushed crude up on the expectation that maybe the Federal Reserve would delay raising interest rates,” said Phil Flynn, analyst at Price Futures Group in Chicago.
The dollar slipped against the euro EUR= after US jobs growth slowed in June and factory orders fell in May, tempering expectations for a September rate hike. A softer dollar makes oil, denominated in the greenback, more affordable to users of the euro.
“It’s natural for the market to be up given yesterday’s thwacking and the weakness in the dollar,” said Matt Smith, director of commodities research at ClipperData, an energy markets database in Houston.
“But we are likely to trade with some nervousness, ahead of the long weekend and while we wait developments on Greece and Iran.”
Gasoline RBc, also known as RBOB, rose 1.7 percent. Ultra-low sulfur diesel rose 0.5 percent. “Cracks,” or refining margins for these, rose too, pulling along crude prices on expectations of more US summer driving demand.
“RBOB is very strong this morning. Brent and WTI are going for the ride,” said Scott Shelton, a commodities specialist in Durham, North Carolina, for broker ICAP.
Oil up as US data cools rate hike views
