Oil up near $89 waiting U.S. jobs report (AP) (05-01-2011)

LONDON -- Oil prices rose near $89 a barrel on Friday as investors looked to an important monthly employment report for signs the U.S. economy is strengthening.

Benchmark oil for February delivery rose 11 cents to $88.49 a barrel by late morning in Europe in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The contract lost $1.92 to settle at $88.38 on Thursday.

The Labor Department said on Thursday that 409,000 people made claims for benefits for the first time, up 18,000 from the previous week.

The ADP though, said on Wednesday that companies likely added nearly 300,000 jobs last month, far more than the 100,000 economists predicted.

The unemployment rate fell to 9.7 percent in December from 9.8 percent the previous month while investors are about to watch closely the December nonfarm payroll figures – being released on Friday, after mixed signals about the jobs market so far this week.

Oil prices are estimated to reach at $100 this year, while there are expectations for a global economic growth weakening in 2011 having results on crude demand.

In other Nymex trading in February contracts, heating oil gained 0.8 cent to $2.50 a gallon while gasoline futures added 0.2 cent to $2.44 per gallon. February natural gas futures slid 3.1 cents to $4.40 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In London, Brent crude was down 47 cents to $94.05 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

Source: AP